Sweet Sacrifice
by nick2951
Summary: In the course of one summer, Spencer Hastings had lost it all and was a broken teen. Befriended by Mona Vanderwaal, she will be tempted by revenge and justice. Will Spencer fall into Darkness or will she bring Mona into the light? Heavy AU and Spona.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Pretty Little Liars

**Author's Note: This story has been in development for a while but thanks to my new Beta Paraddicted, it finally has been published so expect an update about one a week. This is a heavy AU expect a lot of OOC and other things- though it will be a bit dark and the rating might change down the road. Hope you enjoy!**

Spencer Hastings dreaded the sun rising as she lay in bed.

She had been up since 3am, wondering what was going to happen on her first day of her junior year. She had picked out her clothing the night before, and had made her lunch, but it didn't matter because she knew she was not ready to face whatever the day held. It would be the first time in a long while that she would be going to school alone.

It had been a really crappy summer.

From her long stint in rehab, to Alison throwing her out of the group, Spencer's life had completely unraveled and now, she was lost. Her family was now focused on Melissa and her coming child, they were blinded by how alone Spencer right now. There was no one she could turn to.

If it wasn't for her pride, she'd consider showing up on Alison's doorstep and begging her to be let back in. But every time that thought started to gain strength, she'd remember what Alison was now making Hanna do in order to stay thin. It repulsed Spencer to her core, but there was nothing she could do since no one believed her. Being a drug addict made sure that no one believed you when you actually were telling the truth.

It was another hour before her alarm went off, though the noise downstairs was loud enough to wake anyone up. Melissa and her new husband were staying in the barn until their new place was remodeled so it was a full house. While the rivalry between the sisters was not as intense as before, they still rarely got along; especially with their parents always siding with the elder sister.

Deciding to stop delaying the inevitable, Spencer got up and walked over to her closet where her outfit for school was hanging up. It was a very conservative dress with a white skirt and pink over shirt to cover her arms. After getting dressed, she put on a pair of white shoes and tied her hair into a pony tail. She applied only a little makeup to enhance her complexion but without over doing it and making it flashy.

Everyone, except her mother, was at the table eating breakfast when she entered the kitchen; it looked as if she had left already. They all looked at her their conversation coming to a halt, but Spencer ignored them and went straight for the coffee. As she drank, she looked at the clock and figured getting to school early wasn't a bad thing, since it meant that she'd get there before too many other students arrived.

Putting the empty coffee cup in the sink, Spencer grabbed her lunch from the fridge while doing her best to ignore the various looks of curiosity and concern from her family. It had been only a few days since she was back home and everyone was still walking on egg shells around her; except for Melissa who treated her as she usually did.

Spencer had packed her backpack last night, and left it in the kitchen near the table. Still ignoring everyone in the room, she placed her lunch into her pack and made her way to the door. She was almost out of the door before her father spoke up.

"Aren't you even going to say goodbye?" asked Peter Hastings, obviously annoyed at his daughters behavior.

"Goodbye; have to go to school," Spencer said sarcastically before she opened the kitchen door to leave. Her father spoke up again and his words stopped her.

"I have to head to the office; I'll take you," Peter said, and Spencer could have sworn she saw a smirk on Melissa's face. Wren kept his face neutral and just concentrated on his food, not wanting to get involved and incur the wrath of his wife.

"It's not far, so I'll just walk," Spencer claimed, she did not want to be embarrassed further by being dropped off by one of her parents.

"Get in the car Spence," ordered Peter, losing his patience. Spencer ripped opened the door and headed to the car.

It was a few minutes before her father got into the car all the while Spencer just tapped her fingers in frustration. She just wanted to go to school alone, and not have to deal with her parents if she didn't have to. She knew that giving them the silent treatment was immature, but given her lack of support in her family, it was all she had to really get back at them.

Peter's eyes darted from the road to his daughter continuously as they drove, but she just stared out the window and did her best to ignore him. Contrary to what Spencer believed, Peter really did care about his daughter and only wanted the best for her. While Spencer had been crushed by what Alison had done to her, Peter had been secretly elated since it meant that she was no longer affiliated with that family.  
>Though it had hurt him to see Spencer fall into drugs to cope; he had no problem blaming it on Alison.<p>

"So your mother and I were talking; we think it might be good for you to get involved with some sort of school sport to keep you occupied. Plus it would look great on your application to UPenn," Peter suggested, glancing at his daughter to get a reaction.

"Fine; I'll try out for Lacrosse," Spencer said her voice devoid of any emotion. She was going to do it anyways, but she didn't to involve her parents in her school life.

Peter just muttered under his breath and sighed.

Eventually they arrived at school, and there were only a few kids outside. Before her father could get in a word, Spencer got out of the car, and practically ran towards the building without so much as a thank you or goodbye. Peter just shook his head and drove off, deciding to take Veronica's advice and give his daughter a few days to herself in order to adjust.

As expected, Spencer was met with stares and whispers as soon as she entered the halls of Rosewood High. She wasn't sure what got out first, Alison dumping her from the group or her stint in rehab. As she quickly walked to her locker, Spencer could hear the snickers being thrown her way which meant that she was now at the bottom of the social ladder.

She originally didn't care what anyone had thought about her in the beginning; before Alison. But being in Alison's circle of friends had made her popular, despite being the brainy one of the group. It had benefited Spencer a lot from being invited to parties that she normally would never have been invited to, to no one saying a single bad thing about her.

Spencer had gotten so used to it that, that it never occurred to her what would happen being at the bottom.

She felt relieved when she opened her locker and found nothing had been tampered with. People at the bottom had a tendency to be pranked very often with locker tampering being the worst of it. There were still pictures of Alison and Spencer on the locker door, so she gathered them quickly, stuffing them into her backpack so that they could be thrown out later.

At one time Spencer had loved Alison. Alison had been the sister that Spencer had always wanted, and the best friend she had ever had. Now that love had turned to hate during Spencer's time in rehab, and the blinders that she had on were no longer there. Spencer fully understood that Alison was a bully, and only considered her friends as dolls.  
>By the time Spencer was done packing her bag for the day, Alison and the other girls came into full view.<p>

Despite her being the Devil, Alison looked gorgeous in a blue dress that showed off her figure pretty good. She was sporting black high heels, and a new velvet purse that looked pricy as well as flashy. The smile she wore was a total facade, and her eyes showed the manipulative girl that she really was. When Spencer caught her eye, Alison just smirked like she did to people she considered losers.

Beside Alison were the rest of the girls; trailing slightly behind so that it was clear; Alison was the leader of the group. Aria was wearing a pure black dress with black boots indicating that she was still in her Goth phase. Emily was in a pair of blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a white halter top that showed just a little cleavage; Spencer had no doubt that it was Alison who picked out the top.

It was Hanna that had gone over the biggest makeover of them all, and Spencer wasn't sure whether to be amazed or disgusted. She had lost weight, that much was obvious to Spencer; how she lost the weight was what really worried Spencer. Hanna was wearing a similar dress to Alison but way more revealing and slightly lighter in color; she was also wearing high heels which also matched Alison's which meant that they were picked out for Hanna.

Unlike Alison, the rest of the girls avoided eye contact with Spencer. She wasn't sure whether it was out of guilt or to not incur Alison's wrath. None of them had visited Spencer in rehab, and they hadn't even returned any of her letters or phone calls. Spencer had felt the betrayal, she needed her friends, but her anger was more directed at Alison than the rest of the girls.

The bell rang and Spencer shut her locker and headed to her first class. The one good thing her parents did for her while she was in rehab, was to make sure that she wasn't in any classes with Alison or her former friends. While she would never tell them but, she was appreciative since the pain of Alison was still fresh in her heart.

Spencer walked into her first class and sat in the front row. In the past, she always sat where Alison sat which was in the back so that she could do what she wanted. Now Spencer was free to sit where ever she wanted without having the distraction near her. As the rest of the class filtered in, there were stares and silent conversations but nothing that was too bad. One girl who caught her eye seemed familiar, but Spencer could not place the name to the face.

The first two classes went by without a hitch, Spencer ignored everything that went on around her, her concentration and focus purely on the teachers. She took notes and answering as many questions as possible, Spencer was smart and had no problems showing it. Without being stuck in regular school drama, she could now focus on her future.

By the time lunch came around, Spencer was starving since she failed to eat breakfast. Wanting to have little contact as possible with Alison and the group, she found herself a lone table outside, isolated from the rest. It was nice out so Spencer didn't have to worry about the weather. Taking out her lunch and a school book, Spencer read while she ate.

It was a few minutes before she was started by a voice; "Can I join you?"

Spencer looked up see the same girl from her first class standing there and smiling at her; in fact, Spencer was sure she was in her second class as well. There was a familiarity to the short girl that Spencer could not place, and it took a few seconds before Spencer was shocked in realization.

"Mona?" asked Spencer as she stared hard at the girl.

"Hello Spencer; long time no see," Mona said, her voice gentle and sweet.

The last time Spencer had seen Mona was just before the sophomore year ended, and it was not on good terms since Alison had played a pretty brutal prank on the short girl. The prank had been so vicious that it had been a heavy contributing factor in Spencer standing up to the Queen Bee. During her time in rehab, Spencer had felt guilty for not stepping forward when it came to Alison's numerous victims.

To say that Mona looked different was an understatement. She had gotten rid of the glasses and had gone with contacts. Her hair was not braided and flowed down, past her shoulders. Her attire was more stylish than what she wore in the past, with a green and white sweater vest with matching skirt. The skirt went down to her knees and showed off a bit more of her legs than before. Mona was also wearing makeup but it wasn't overly done and flashy like Alison's.

"Can I sit?" Mona asked again, her voice staying gentle.

Spencer nodded and Mona sat down across from her, taking out her lunch. It consisted of veggies and rice, clustered together inside a microwavable container. When Mona started eating, she occasionally glanced at Spencer, which was caught on but ignored at first. Deciding to try engage in conversation, Mona spoke up.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Mona said sincerely, catching Spencer by surprise.

"What do you mean?" asked Spencer, clearly knowing what the smaller girls meant.

"For losing your friends and what happened to you during the summer," Mona answered with a sad smile. Mona wasn't really sad for Spencer but knew how to fake it. Spencer didn't say anything, but looked like she was trying to hold it together.

"I had a crappy summer too; spent it in Radley," Mona admitted shyly and Spencer looked up at her classmate, startled.

Everyone in town knew about Radley Sanitarium which was located at the edge of Rosewood. It was for those who were mentally disturbed, and had other issues. Spencer knew about the place from Alison, whose mother was on the Board. It was said that once you entered Radley, you never came out.

"I had a breakdown at the end of the school year, and had to spend some time there," Mona explained before Spencer could ask.  
>Spencer now felt even guiltier she had a clear idea of what led to the breakdown though Mona had yet to say it.<p>

"I'm sorry," Spencer said, truly meaning it.

"Well "Crazy Mona" seems to be a slight step up from "Loser Mona", so maybe it's for the best," Mona stated with a fake laugh.

Spencer didn't know what to say about that, and just kept silent. A part of her was glad that she wasn't the only one damaged at school right now, and she secretly hoped that Mona would take some of the spotlight off of her. But there was some guilt too since once again, it proved that Alison was a monster, and Spencer hadn't and couldn't do anything about it.

The rest of lunch was spent in silence, with Mona reading a book and occasionally looking up to smile at Spencer. Spencer herself didn't know what to say to the smaller teen and kept to herself, out of guilt and suspicion that Mona was taunting her. If anyone had a justifiable grudge against Spencer right now, Mona would be that person; especially since Spencer no longer had a group to protect her.

The rest of the day was mediocre, and Spencer was quick to learn that she shared all her classes with Mona, and none with her former friends. The smaller teen had taken up sitting next to Spencer in almost every class, though Mona seemed to only concentrate on the class itself and not on Spencer; which the taller girl was grateful for.

If there was one silver lining, it was that Spencer hadn't seen Alison and her posse since the initial encounter in the morning. The term "Druggie Spencer" had come to her attention in overheard whispers from other students; no doubt created by Alison to further isolate her. It was as if Alison deliberately wanted Spencer alone, with no group to call her own.

Which was funny since Spencer had no intention of ever becoming a part of a group again.

When school ended, Spencer quickly made her way to her locker, and gathered her things into her bag before exiting school. She ignored the rest of the students, as they made their way to their cars, bikes, or family members waiting for them in front of the school. She caught a brief glance of Alison and the group piling in Emily's car and taking off.

After ten minutes of waiting, it was apparent that no one was coming to pick her up from school. She wasn't surprise that her family had forgotten about her or just didn't care though Spencer wished she had brought her bike. The bus had already left, and all there was to do was just walk home. It was about a mile away, so it shouldn't take her that long although, it was starting to get chilly.

She walked for about six minutes before she heard a car come alongside her. Looking over, Spencer was surprised to see a classic blue and white car from the last century stop just ahead of her, the passenger side window rolled down. A familiar voice came from the car just as she walked right next to it.

"Care for a ride?" asked Mona with a smile.

**Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

The car ride was awkward to say the least; in Spencer's opinion anyways.

She didn't know why she accepted Mona's offer for a ride, since she was more than willing to just walk home. But there was something about Mona's demeanor that made Spencer say yes, so she got in the passenger seat. Although it was a friendlier ride than what she was used to in the last few months.

"This is a nice car," Spencer said, feeling comfortable in the leather seat. The look inside was very retro but nice none the less.

"Thank you; I bought it from Jenna Marshall before she moved to New York," informed Mona in an off handed tone.

Spencer froze at hearing the name, and became a lot less comfortable. The memory of what happened that night when Jenna was blinded still haunted her memories, even though it was Alison who had done it. During rehab, Spencer almost came clean about what happened, but stayed silent since she couldn't prove what had happened.

Also Spencer couldn't put it past Alison to lay the blame on her, and get away with it.

"Yeah, I just fell in love with it when I first saw it, so I bought it a few days after I got out of Radley," Mona explained with a smile as she rubbed the dashboard.

"You could afford buying this?" asked Spencer, curious. She didn't know anything about Mona except that she lived with her mother not too far from where Spencer lived.

"Yeah; when you have no friends because you're declared a loser, one can save up quite a bit of money," Mona said with a slight twitch of anger in her voice.

"Oh." was all Spencer could say, guilt returning to her, and she wished that she had just walked.

"Don't you have a car or could have borrowed one?" Mona asked innocently. She knew the answer but wanted to hear it from Spencer herself.

"My license was suspended so I can't drive for a while," Spencer admitted, feeling slightly ashamed.

It happened the night that Alison had kicked her out of the group. Spencer had taken a bunch of pills, and went for a joyride with her mother's car. She couldn't remember what happened but apparently she hit a tree, and kicked a cop in the leg before getting arrested. Her parents managed to get her sent to rehab, but her license was suspended for six months.

"I'm sorry. That just sucks," Mona said, seeming genuinely apologetic. Spencer just smiled at her in thanks.

"So Jenna left town?" Spencer asked, both out of curiosity and wanting to change the subject. She hadn't heard about Jenna since she entered rehab, and was curious to know what happened to her.

"Yeah, she and her girlfriend moved in together, in a place in New York after they took the exit exams at her school for the blind," Mona informed as she turned a corner.

"Jenna's gay?" Spencer asked, slightly confused. She thought Jenna Marshall was into guys since they were always hanging out with her before she was blinded.

"She's bisexual, always has been. She is living with an ex-friend of Alison's named Shana," Mona stated and Spencer looked at her astounded.

"Ex-friend of Alison's?" she asked, now wanting to know every detail.

"Yeah; believe it or not, you are not the only one who was a friend of Alison. Not the only one who saw who she really was," Mona commented with a slight smirk.

Spencer didn't know how to respond to that. She genuinely felt that she was the first of her kind to be pulled in by Alison, but came to recognize that she was a monster. Spencer wanted to meet this Shana person now, she even wanted apologize to Jenna for what happened. She also wondered if there were any more people out there who were ex-friends of Alison's.

Spencer was also curious to know how Alison pulled it off the night of the prank that caused Jenna's blindness. She knew that Alison had somehow blackmailed Toby and Jenna into keeping silent, but she never found out how. There was part of her now that wanted to find out; especially since there wasn't a single thing she knew about Alison.

This was the power that Alison yielded over the others; their secrets. Spencer, blinded by her admiration, had told Alison all of her secrets, and she suspected that the others did as well. That was why Spencer felt so defeated by the blond since she had no power over her. Spencer had never bothered to find out her secrets.

They had arrived at Spencer's house, pulling up in front of it.

"Thank you for the ride," Spencer said, smiling at the smaller girl.

"No problem; see you in school tomorrow," Mona said, smiling at Spencer, who then turned and headed to her front door. Mona waited until the taller girl entered her house before driving off.

As Mona drove, she decided that she needed to reevaluate her plans. Originally, all she wanted to do was see if the rumors were true about Spencer getting kicked out of Alison's posse, and pump the girls for information. But after spending the day observing her, Mona could see that Spencer was a broken mess.

Sure she put on a good mask; but Mona had long learned to look underneath the lies.

She turned on the radio to her favorite music, and the sound of classic French music filled the car. Mona sang in tune with the person on the radio, speaking in flawless French that she knew for years now. The music soothed her as she drove, making her temporarily forget all the drama of high school.

After arriving at her house, Mona parked the car next to her mom's in the driveway. Grabbing her bag, she locked the car, and walked up the front door. Entering the house, she closed the door behind her, heading to the kitchen where she knew her mother was.

Leona Vanderwaal smiled at her daughter as she pulled the cookies from the oven and set them onto the stove. Looking at the clock, the older woman noticed that Mona was home a little later than usual, but said nothing since Mona had a smile on her face. Truthfully, Leona had been dreading that her daughter would come home a broken mess.

"So, how was today?" Leona asked as she poured a cup of tea for Mona along with a couple of cookies.

"It went alright; I don't think that too many kids recognized me so they left me alone," Mona answered as she grabbed a cookie and bit a piece off of it.

"So no names?" Leona asked, concerned for her daughter.

"Well I am known as "Crazy Mona" now, but no one has said it to my face or pranked me yet," Mona said offhand. Leona sighed at that and offered a sympathetic smile to her daughter.

"We can still get you to a new school; even have you do home school," Leona offered, putting the ideas on the table. Despite her complaints, the school seemed to not take action when it came to her daughter's bullying which angered her greatly.

It was because of that bullying that Mona snapped and started planning to go after the source of it all; Alison DiLaurentis. Leona thanked God that she had come home early that night before summer break and caught her daughter in that black hoodie, ready to start stalking Alison. She also was thankful that Mona saw reason, and was able to be convinced to get help.

"It's okay; like Dr. Sullivan said, I have tune out the negativity and focus on my future," Mona said with a reassuring smile. She hated using a mask in front of her mother to deceive her.

"So why were you late coming home?" Leona asked, changing the subject as well as being curious.

"I gave Spencer a ride home," answered Mona, taking a sip of her tea.

"As in Spencer Hastings, a friend of Alison's?" Leona inquired with a frown. She knew all about Alison's posse.

"Not anymore; Alison threw her out of the group. She also just got out of rehab," Mona explained, reassuring her mother that everything was okay.

"I see; I hadn't heard that," Leona said though she wasn't surprised since she never got involved with the town gossip.

"Yeah; she just seems lost right now and could use a friend," Mona stated with a smile.

"Well that's nice of you; just be careful because Spencer is a Hastings, you can never really turn your back on them," Leona warned and Mona nodded.

The two had dinner together, eating a classic French dish that Mona helped her mother with. It was just the two of them, given that there was no father involved. After dinner, Mona went up to her room to do homework, while Leona finished editing a novel as part of her work for a publishing company.

Mona entered her room and tossed her bag on her bed. After making sure the door was locked, she got on her knees and moved her desk out part ways, opening a hidden compartment that she only knew about. The space was big enough for a large suitcase to be hidden from those Mona didn't want to know about it.

Opening the case and leaning back against the wall while still sitting on the floor, Mona pulled out a laptop and placed it next to her. She then pulled out a doll that was the depiction of Spencer and held it close while examining it. Pulling out a small comb out of the case, she began to brush the doll's head while humming to herself.

While Radley and her mother considered her cured, the truth was the exact opposite. What she learned at the sanitarium was that she needed to be more careful as well as put on a better mask. Mona also understood that she needed a partner in enacting her justice on Alison, and Heaven seemed to have thrown her a bone.

When Mona first heard about what happened to Spencer, she couldn't believe her ears and had to check it out for herself.

What she found made Mona both excited and feeling pity at the same time. Spencer was broken; she tried to put on a mask saying otherwise but Mona could see right thru it. Alison's punishment had left Spencer alone in a high school that fed on those who couldn't run with the pack. She was without allies, and dealing with a blond teen that could be very vindictive.

But now she had Mona now to make it all better.

Mona was going to make Spencer into a doll like Alison had; but unlike Alison, Spencer would be forged into something greater and special. Spencer was just about her intellectual equal so she was the perfect partner that Lucas couldn't be. Now all she needed was a little time to work her will upon the unsuspecting girl.

Looking at the doll, Mona wondered if Spencer could replace the hole in her heart left by Hanna. Ever since the blond had been poached from her by Alison, Mona had been lonely and wanted Hanna back. But now that seemed impossible since Alison had now forged Hanna to look exactly like her.

Maybe with Spencer's help, Mona could get Hanna back.

Looking inside the case, Mona saw her other dolls; depicting the girls in Alison's posse as well as Alison herself. There were also photos of some of Alison's dirty deeds as well as videos; taken from months of surveillance. She would have had more if it weren't for her being in Radley so Mona now had to catch up for lost time.

The biggest prize Mona was aiming for was Alison's diaries, which had everything that Mona could ask for. The smaller girl knew that there were volumes that Alison had written, in the blonde's room as well as other places she thought were safe. Mona had gotten a hold of one such volume, which she found to be in some sort of code. It had taken some time, but most of it was decrypted and contained some pretty juice details.

Mona, when she had the chance, planned to try and get the rest of the diaries when she could. Her mother was keeping a close eye on her, making sure that Mona was staying out of trouble. She had a set curfew, and was given medication to control her mental instabilities; which her mother kept strict track of.

Fortunately for Mona, the pills she was forced to take had been switched out for placebos; something Mona had done inside Radley when she had been first prescribed them. The pills had made her feel dull witted and not herself; which was why she never wanted to be on them again. She would rather be in jail.

Mona heard her mother's door open, and she quickly put everything back in the case, putting it back in the secret space in the wall. After moving the desk back, she quickly unlocked the door and jumped on the bed. Pulling a book out of her bag, she laid back against the pillow and opened it just as the handle on her door turned. Her mother smiled at her as Mona looked up from her book, faking that she was reading it.

"I'm going to bed; it's getting late, are you turning it?" asked Leona as she yawned.

"Yes, I have to be up early since I plan on picking up Spencer for school," Mona informed her mother with a smile.

"I see; that's very nice of you," Leona said, not sure what to think about it. While she was happy that her daughter was trying to make new friends, she wasn't so sure that befriending a Hastings was a good idea.

Leona had gone to school with Peter and Veronica, though they ran in different social circles. While she didn't mind them, she always found the couple too driven and disliked their attitudes of perfection. While she had used Melissa as a babysitter in the past for Mona when she was young, she always felt uneasy about doing so, since Melissa seemed too much like her parents.  
>Leona was curious if Spencer was cut from the same cloth though a visit to rehab was uncharacteristic of a Hastings.<p>

"Well I will see you bright and early. Goodnight honey," Leona said to her daughter, blowing her a kiss.

"Goodnight," Mona said, returning the kiss. She then watched as her mother shut the door behind her.

Mona got back up and changed into her pajamas, before grabbing her Hanna doll from the shelf on the far wall. Unlike the other dolls that she kept in the case in the wall, Mona had left this doll out in the open as both a reminder of what she had lost, and to remind her of her desire to have back. It was always next to her as she slept as a form of comfort.

Shutting off the lamp next to her bed, Mona wrapped the covers around her body while snuggling with the doll close to her side. Though it was a bit early for her to go to bed, Mona had had a long day and she was tired. Besides, she needed her beauty sleep for what she now needed to do.

Mona had plans and it was now time to enact them.

**Please R&R and thanks to Paraddicted for the edit!**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

Spencer watched the clock as she lay in bed.

She was supposed to be up for school in about an hour, and had her outfit all laid out like before. It was like she was repeating the day all over again, especially since she had the same feeling of dread in her stomach as she did yesterday. At least her homework was done as well as some extra work from other classes.

After Mona had dropped her off, Spencer had ignored her family and went straight to her room. The only time she had come out was to eat dinner with the family; even then she had kept to herself. Her mother had asked about her day and Spencer gave one worded answers, much to Veronica's annoyance.

After dinner was done, Spencer retreated to her room for the rest of the night.

Though she felt lonely, Spencer also felt a lot safer being isolated. She had always had a complicated relationship with her family; even more so since she got back from rehab. Her mother tried to reach out but Spencer completely rebuffed her; too angry with years of neglect in favor of Melissa.

She had studied for most of the night, and had finished all of her homework for the week. Once she was done, she moved onto other projects that weren't due for a while in order to keep ahead of the class. Spencer's aim was to put her schoolwork first and foremost; even to go as far as being valedictorian which was more or less expected since Melissa had been one when she graduated.

A second before the alarm went off, Spencer's hand shot out and hit the off switch. She lay there for another second before sitting up and yawning, slipping her feet in her slippers. Standing up, she stretched and then headed to the bathroom to do her morning routine. About twenty minutes later, she went to her closet and pulled out the outfit she had chosen to wear the night before.  
>It was similar to yesterdays, though different colors and the skirt length a little shorter. It was also more casual, and more comfortable to wear.<p>

Since Spencer no longer had to worry about impressing anyone, it was easier to wear what she wanted to wear. Once she was dressed,  
>Spencer put on only a tad of makeup more for hiding the stress lines than for show.<br>When she was done, she grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs.

Her parents and Melissa, as well as Wren were already at the table when she came into the kitchen. They stopped talking when Spencer entered and there were looks exchanged between her parents while Melissa just focused on her food. Wren didn't know what to do besides not angering his wife so he stayed quiet.

Spencer opened the fridge and pulled out her sack lunch she had prepared the night before. She wasn't hungry which was why she always packed a larger lunch. She did go for the coffee in order to feed her caffeine addiction. While she sipped her coffee, she looked at the time and planned to leave in a few minutes.

"Morning Honey," Veronica finally greeted since Spencer wouldn't. She knew her daughter was still adjusting and would give her the space she needed.

"Morning," was all that Spencer said, not looking at her parents and concentrating on the clock.

"I'll be leaving here in a few minutes; I'll take you to school," Veronica offered with a smile.

"No thank you; I'll just walk," Spencer said while shaking her head. Before her mother could say anything, Peter spoke up.

"Let your mother drive you Spence; okay?" Peter said, more of an order than anything else. Before Spencer could emphasize no, there was a ring of the doorbell.

"I'll get it," Wren offered, getting up from the table and heading out of the kitchen. The rest of the family was curious to see who it was since it was still pretty early for visitors. Wren returned a minute later with someone else.

"Spencer, you have a visitor," Wren stated and Mona came into view; which surprised Spencer to say the least.

"Mona," greeted Spencer, though not sure why the girl was here.

"Hello Spencer; I thought you would maybe like a ride to school," Mona offered with a rather sweet smile. She looked over at the other Hastings members and smiled at them as well. Spencer noted that Melissa seemed put off by Mona's presence, almost as if she were afraid.

"That's nice of you to do; we are glad that Spencer is socializing in school," Veronica said, seemingly happy that her daughter wasn't completely isolating herself.

"Oh no, I just thought I would just offer her a ride after driving Spencer home yesterday," Mona corrected, finding it interesting that Spencer seemed to be isolating herself.

"Wait….I thought Melissa picked you up?" Peter asked, puzzled. He looked over at his older daughter and narrowed his eyes at her. He had asked her to do that after dropping off Spencer at school. Until his younger daughter was completely better, it was decided that she would be driven by the family.

"I was on my way and running a little late; by the time I got there, Spencer was already gone," Melissa defended. Spencer knew that was a lie but didn't say anything since starting a fight this early would only cause problems.

"Well you need to call next time and let her know," chided Peter, a little angry with his daughter. Wren stayed silent but knew he wouldn't hear the end of it later when he and Melissa were alone.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Mona, sensing that Spencer wanted to leave, seeing her fidget ever so slightly.

"Yeah," was all that Spencer said, grabbing her bag and leaving the kitchen before her mother could say goodbye, or give her a quick kiss on the forehead. Mona smiled at the Hastings and gave them a nod, she gave Melissa a slight smirk before following Spencer out of the house.

"You can put your bag on the backseat," Mona said, opening the door for her. Spencer placed her backpack next to Mona's on the seat before getting in the passenger side. When their seatbelts were on, Mona started the car and headed to school.

"Thank you," Spencer said, not sure whether to be nervous or relieved to be driven by someone other than her family.

"You're welcome; we can carpool every day until you start driving again if you want," Mona offered as she looked over at Spencer and smiled. Spencer seemed to think about her offer for a few minutes before nodding.

Truthfully, she would rather be driven around by Mona then be forced to endure any of her family right now, including Wren. Compared to her family, Mona would provide better conversation and seemed just as damaged as Spencer was. Mona might say she was cured, but Spencer sensed something was off about her; which she understood since Mona had endured years of bullying by Alison.

Plus Mona was on her level of intelligence and at the top of the class when it came to grades. All through middle school, the two had been in competition along with Andrew to be top of the class. They were also in all the same classes together, so they could go over homework and quiz each other for coming tests.

As for her reputation, Spencer no longer cared what people thought of her so carpooling with Mona wouldn't hurt.

"Great; I'll pick you up about half an hour before school starts unless one of us is sick in which a phone call is needed," stated Mona, laying out the guidelines.

"That sounds good; I can help with gas since I still have money in the bank," Spencer informed and Mona nodded. Given that she was no longer spending money on trivial things, Spencer had plenty of money in the bank.

When they got to school, Spencer was surprised that Mona had easily found a spot; almost in the front where the side doors to the school were. She leaned over and grabbed a blue card out of her bag in the backseat, placing it on the dashboard for everyone to see. To Spencer, it looked like some sort of pass and asked Mona about it.

"The school issued parking passes so that only the people who carried them can park in the school parking lot. Originally it was only for seniors but since there were more than enough spaces, the school extended it for those who had high enough GPAs," Mona explained as they got out of the car.

"Wow; I didn't know that. How did you hear about it?" asked Spencer, curious since there was apparently a lot that she had missed when she was in rehab. If she were still on the student council like she was last year, she would have probably have heard about it.

"My mother found out about it when she volunteered at the bake sale during the summer. Before school started, I applied for one and got it almost instantly," Mona answered as the two walked to the side door of the school.

"That's cool," Spencer said and she meant it. She wondered though how Alison got one since her grades tended to be mediocre; probably her rich parents got her one.

The two separated since their lockers were located in different sections of the school. As she walked down the halls, there was the occasional look or whisper but nothing vindictive. She had yet to see Alison or her former friends and hurried to grab her stuff so that she could get to class without encountering them.

She nearly made it until Alison came around the corner with her posse in tow.

When Alison spotted Spencer, she whispered something to Hanna who laughed while Aria and Emily looked away. Spencer did her best to ignore them, while opening her locker and grabbing what she needed. She heard more laughing behind her and Spencer closed her eyes, trying to suppress the hurt she was feeling.

She felt their stares but focused on her task, trying her best not to let Alison intimidate her.

When she was done, Spencer closed her locker and headed to class. She caught Alison's smirk, and it took Spencer everything she had not to go over and wipe that grin off her face. It hurt that Hanna had a similar look on her face, it was clear she was slowing devolving into a clone of Alison. She wondered if Hanna could be saved.

While she wasn't looking, Spencer bumped into someone and dropped her bag. As she leaned down to gather her things, the person whom she had collided with did the same. Spencer was surprised to see that it was Noel Khan, and he seemed to be helping her while giving her a sweet smile.

"Sorry about that Spencer," Noel apologized as he helped her and Spencer was surprised by his thoughtfulness since she always considered him more of a j***.

"Thank you," was all that Spencer could say and gave him a slight smile in return. She then left him and continued to her class.

Entering the classroom, she saw that Mona had taken up a seat next to her in the front of the class. Since class seats had yet to be permanently assigned and only Spencer had been a fan of the front, it wasn't a surprise that a fellow student had ceded the spot to Mona in favor of the back. Thinking about it, Spencer didn't mind since Mona could be a helpful person if she needed it.

The two sat together in the next class as well, and Spencer would not have been surprised that Mona had arranged it for the rest of the classes as well.

When lunch came around the two found themselves at a lone table at the edge of everything that seemed pretty private. It also had the benefit of being as far away from Alison as possible since the blond like being the center of everything. It was nice that Mona respected that Spencer wanted to eat in silence, and the two worked on their school work all through the meal.

The day continued without incident, though Spencer felt uneasy for some reason. She felt like someone was watching her, even though Alison wasn't around. Noel appeared a few times and Spencer wondered if Alison had asked him to keep an eye on her. Last Halloween, Alison had pulled a prank on the girls with Noel's help so she knew he was connected to her in some way.

As school ended, Spencer made her way to her locker so that she could grab her stuff before meeting up with Mona for a ride home. She had already called her parents to let them know of the new arrangement, and thankfully they approved. Her mother actually seemed relieved that Spencer had moved on from Alison.

She stopped when she spotted Noel waiting for her at her locker and cautiously approached since he apparently wanted something.

"Hey Spencer; I wanted to talk to you about something," Noel said when he spotted her. Even though he had a disarming smile and was polite, Spencer still had her defenses up.

"What did you want?" Spencer asked, cautious but still polite. She didn't smile at him but kept her face more neutral.

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to Homecoming next week?" Noel asked and Spencer's jaw nearly dropped.

"You are asking me to Homecoming?" Spencer inquired, not sure whether to be flattered or suspicious. Despite his bad boy reputation, Noel Kahn was considered to be one of the hottest guys in school.

"Yes; do you want to go?" he asked again, sporting a charming smile.

"Why are you asking me? Especially since I have been dubbed "Druggie Spencer"?" Spencer inquired with a hint of suspicion and force in her tone.

"You are a cute girl and I couldn't care less what people say about you," Noel answered, now seemingly annoyed that he had to defend himself. Spencer still pressed him though.

"You are not just a nice guy Noel; what is going on?" Spencer demanded to know. Her instincts were telling her that something was going on.

"Okay; I am just trying to get back at Alison in some way, I thought by you going with me to Homecoming, I can get under her skin," admitted Noel with a sheepish grin. Spencer considered his offer and had to think about it.

"Give me a few days to think about it," Spencer said, shutting her locker and walking away.

"No problem; just don't take too long since my time is limited. We both want to see Alison taken down a peg," Noel said with a smile. Spencer turned and nodded before heading away from him.

Noel watched her go and his smile turned evil as the plan began its opening stages.

**Please R&R and a special thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

Mona noticed that Spencer seemed distracted. She could tell that after years of observing the teen, plus Spencer was chewing on her own hair, a nervous habit she had come across a few times.

Mona had spotted Noel Kahn hanging out near Spencer's locker after leaving her and heading to her locker. This was unusual since Noel ran in a completely different social circle than both of them, he was up there with Alison as part of the monarchy of the school. Something was up, and Mona was curious to what since she didn't want to lose Spencer.

"What's wrong?" Mona asked, deciding to be direct. There wasn't enough time to dance around the subject, hoping that Spencer would just blab about what happened in the hallway.

"Noel Kahn asked me to homecoming." Spencer answered, her tone full of wonderment. It was good that the car was stopped at a light because Mona would have swerved into something, she was so shocked.

"What?" Mona nearly screeched, completely caught off guard by the answer. It also concerned her since it was obvious that something was going on.

"Yeah, he wants me to go to Homecoming with him to get back at Alison." Spencer informed, still unsure of it herself.

Mona frowned and drove through the green light, deep in thought. Noel could get back at Alison a dozen different ways with far more effectiveness than taking Spencer to the homecoming dance. No, this had to be something else and Mona suspected Alison's hand behind it. Especially since Alison somehow managed to hold a leash over Noel in some way that Mona had yet to figure out.

"What are you going to do?" Mona inquired, keeping her tone neutral.

"I don't know. It's tempting to do it since I want to get back at Alison, but I am just not sure about revenge." Spencer admitted, really not sure what to do.

"Well I would be careful, Noel wanting revenge just seems off to me given what I know." Mona stated, baiting Spencer. Mona had her own plan being formed that could use this to her benefit.

"What do you mean? What have you heard?" Spencer asked, curious and looking over at Mona from the passenger seat.

"Before I got committed, I had heard that Alison had something on Noel and he was her lapdog," Mona told Spencer; telling her the truth would work in her favor.

"Really? I never saw that " Spencer said, unsure on whether to believe what Mona just said. Alison had always considered Noel a dumb jock, or at least that was what she told the girls, and never bothered with him except for Halloween.

Then again, maybe Mona was right and Noel was in Alison's shadow all along; like the rest of them. Spencer had never learned any of the Alison's secrets but had told Alison all of hers; which had put her in a position of weakness in regards to Alison. Even now, Spencer did not know how Alison managed to acquire that much power in the school.

"Alison is good at making sure no one crosses her. Her family isn't the only one with wealth in this town after all," Mona stated, hoping that Spencer got the hint.

"So this could be a trap?" Spencer inquired, almost like she was asking Mona's opinion on the subject.

"I am saying that you need to be careful. Alison is a very vindictive person and she has been too quiet," Mona told the taller teen.

Mona was torn on what she wanted to do and what was the right thing to do. Though she had a quest of justice against Alison that knew no bounds, Mona did still retain somewhat of a moral compass; though diminished over the years with her psychosis. It would have worked more in her favor to stay silent about the whole thing, since it was obvious to her that this was definitely a trap by Alison.

But letting Spencer get hurt deliberately by Alison just didn't sit right with her for some reason.

"I told him that I'll think about it; I have a few days," Spencer said, not yet making up her mind. What Mona said might be true, but she couldn't know for sure since she had been in Radley and out of the loop like Spencer was.

"So I was thinking that maybe we could study together this weekend at my house for the history test next week, I can provide dinner if you wanted." Mona offered as they neared Spencer's house.

"Umm…..sure; that sounds good." Spencer said and was almost thankful to get out of the house since it meant that she would be away from her family. They were having some sort of party for Melissa and Wren, and she did not want to be involved in it.

"Cool, I'll pick you up Saturday afternoon?" Mona inquired.

"Umm….pick me up in the morning, there's a party at my house and I want to be gone before it starts," Spencer said and Mona nodded. Now the challenge was to convince her parents to let her go; although it was Melissa's party with her friends, so it might be easy.

The car stopped in front of Spencer's house and she got out after thanking Mona for the ride. Mona nodded and told Spencer that she would see her in the morning. While Spencer walked to her house, Mona pulled out her phone and texted her mother that she would be a little late due to an errand for school. It was a lie but Mona had won enough of her privileges back not to arouse suspicion.

Plus Mona wasn't planning anything nefarious; just visiting an old friend. After getting a response from her mother not to miss her curfew, Mona drove away from Spencer's house.

The last time Mona had seen Lucas was before she had been committed to Radley by her mother; after he had walked out on their partnership.  
>There had been a fight between the two of them on how to deal with Alison and her posse; with Mona wanting to extend their attacks to the rest of the group while Lucas argued that they should only focus on Alison. In the aftermath, Lucas had left that night and the next day, Mona had been discovered by her mother.<p>

Thinking about it in Radley, Mona had wondered if it had been a coincidence that her mother had found out about her just after Lucas had left.  
>He had seemed adamant about not going after the rest of the girls at the time, and he had even threatened Mona, which made her wonder if he had acted on it and tipped off her mother or arranged for her to be home that night.<p>

Mona originally planned to confront him about it on the first day of school, even considering some sort of revenge if he had outed her. Mona had lost a lot of time possibly because of Lucas, and she was quite angry about it. However, she learned on the grapevine that Lucas was now being homeschooled and stayed pretty much to himself nowadays, keeping himself off of Alison's radar.

Mona was now curious to what Lucas was up to, and if he still had contacts close to Noel Kahn. While Mona was sure that Noel was planning something with Alison in regards to Spencer, she had to be sure before deciding whether to intervene or not. She had done her part by warning Spencer but she could do more if she wanted. Hopefully, Lucas could provide some answers.

Lucas lived in the most glamorous neighborhood in town; due to his family being the richest and his father being the mayor for two terms now. Mona's mother was an advent supporter and donor which meant that she had met Lucas's parents before; they thought of her as a nice girl, perfect for their son. Mona however had no interest in Lucas and vice versa.

Getting out of her car, she walked over to the wooden gate on the side of the house and let herself in. Lucas was no longer living in the house, but in a small guest cottage in the back which his parents gave him as a birthday gift. The early lair had been located there before Lucas had supposedly tossed everything after she had gone to Radley.

Lucky for her though, she had been smart enough to keep backups of all of her information.

From the first appearance, there was no one home. Mona had heard that the Mayor and his wife was out of town for some official visit to Washington; leaving Lucas home by himself. Opening the gate, she let herself in and proceeded to the back where Lucas was, curious to see what he was now up to. She had been so distracted by things at school and staying under her mother's radar, that Lucas was an afterthought.

As she approached the cottage, Mona noticed the light of a screen either from a computer or television coming from the window. The cottage itself was small but designed for one person to sleep in. While it lacked a kitchen, it had full bathroom and living area to keep anyone comfortable as well as privacy. It allowed Lucas to operate his schemes without anyone's notice.

Mona was probably the only one in Rosewood who knew Lucas's secrets. Contrary to popular belief, Lucas was just as much of a schemer as she was.  
>He had side operations with gambling and selling test scores that Mona had known about for a long time; she even had proof of his deeds that she was tempted to reveal out of spite after getting sent to Radley.<p>

But she hadn't; since Mona still had some use for him.

Walking up to the cottage door, Mona could hear the sounds of Lucas yelling something from inside. Hearing the sounds of gunfire, she concluded that he was gaming with people online; something that they had both enjoyed at one time. Mona might like what the rest of the girls in school were into, but she was still a nerd at heart.

Smiling, Mona raised her hand and knocked three times. The yelling stopped and the sounds of the television lowered as footsteps approached the door. When the door opened, Lucas's eyes almost popped out in the way they bulged at the sight of Mona. While she just smiled, Lucas just stared at her while dressed in only a pair of red boxers and a white shirt.

"Hello Lucas; it's been such a long time," Mona said with a tone mixed with anger and sweetness. He had nothing to say and appeared quite afraid which made Mona even happier. Despite the months, he still appeared to be afraid of her; which suited Mona just fine since she relished in his fear.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked, almost demanding while still trying to compose his thoughts.

"Just thought I would come by and visit an old friend," Mona answered, shoving her way past him and into the cottage.

The place was different since the last time she had been here. While it wasn't quite a dump, it was a little messy and stank just a tad. The grey carpet needed to be vacuumed because of the dirt, there were empty cans on the computer desk, books not stacked very well on the shelf, and a few boxes of pizza stuffe trash can in the corner. The bed was a mess with the sheets all over the place and the pillows were on the floor. The bathroom looked clean, though Mona suspected that someone else was responsible for that.

As she suspected, Lucas was indeed playing games; Call of Duty Modern Warfare to be exact. Mona had put her gaming habit on hold a long time ago, putting her focus on school and revenge. His large flat screen was at the end of the bed and his computer was turned off, on a desk near the door; which provided a view to the house in case someone came when he was doing something inappropriate.

"Listen, I had nothing to do with you going to Radley," Lucas explained with traces of panic in his voice.

"Really? So it was just a coincidence that my mother just happened to come home and catch me because you called to tell me that you had changed your mind, saying that there was something that Alison was doing that I needed to see," Mona stated, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"And I did; I was not responsible for you getting caught by your mother," Lucas argued, eyeing the cell phone on the table. Mona saw him looking at the phone and just rolled her eyes.

"Relax Lucas; I am not here to do anything to you. I don't buy your story for a second, but I forgive you," Mona said, sounding sincere. It was a lie of course since she was still angry, but he was still an asset; whether he liked it or not.

"Really?" Lucas asked, caught off guard and sitting down on the chair he used for his computer. He was still uneasy and on guard which Mona saw, causing her to roll her eyes again.

"Really; in fact, you did me a favor even though you did betray me," Mona said, emphasizing the betray part in the statement.

"Umm…how?" Lucas inquired, his tone a mix of curiosity and puzzlement.

"By allowing me to gain as asset even more valuable and a potential partner since you are out," Mona answered, narrowing her eyes at him.

"So you are not here to force me back in," Lucas said, more of a statement than a question. He was fully on guard now since Mona was unpredictable.

"Nope; I just can't trust you and you are too much of a coward. But you can be of use to me right now and I will leave you alone once we are done," Mona said and Lucas was once again caught off guard.

"What do you want?" asked her former partner, somewhat excited that she was going to leave him alone.

Lucas had hoped that Radley might cure Mona given her psychotic tendencies, but that was now out the window. He originally had been expecting her to show up almost immediately once he heard she was out; especially since he was responsible in some way. When a few weeks had past and no visit, he had hoped that she had forgotten about him.  
>So much for that belief.<p>

"Do you still have a line on Noel Kahn?" Mona asked, taking a seat on the bed. It was dirty but Mona had sat on worse when watching Alison.

"Kind of; we still game together online and he comes to me every now once in a while when he needs something," Lucas told her.

"Good; he is planning something having to do with Spencer Hastings and I want to know what," Mona said.

"And how do I find that out? Noel isn't just going to tell me," Lucas objected, not sure what she was after.

"Figure it out; I just need to know if Spencer is walking into a trap," Mona said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Why do you care? Isn't she a part of Alison's posse?" Lucas asked, puzzled.

"Not anymore; Alison kicked her out and has basically made her persona non grata at school," she informed him.

"And you've befriended her and want to make her your new partner," Lucas stated, figuring out her plan.

"That is her choice; and you are not going to say anything," Mona said, almost like a threat. Lucas, suddenly nervous and nodded since he had no desire to get involved with what she was planning. Besides, Spencer getting stuck with Mona would be sweet justice since she was once a part of Alison's posse and Lucas could hold a grudge.

"If I do this, you'll just leave me alone?" Lucas asked, looking her into the eyes.

"You are going to do this, unless you want to incur my wrath; but yes, I'll leave you alone. This will be our last thing together," Mona promised him, giving him her word. Lucas nodded and went to his computer.

It had taken a while and every contact he had with the social monarchy at school but Lucas had delivered. Mona then left with what Alison was planning on hand. It was pretty brutal and would probably break Spencer, even send her back into rehab. This had to be the most twisted thing that Alison had ever planned unless Mona intervened.

That is, if Mona wanted to intervene.

**Please R&R and once again a thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

**Author's Note: Chapter is a bit shorter than usual but the next one should be longer. A special thanks to my beta for the pre-read.**

The rest of the week had been uneventful; much to Spencer's relief.

After being dropped off by Mona at her house, Spencer immediately escaped to her room; not coming out until dinner.

While she was in her room, Spencer had grabbed her overnight bag and stuffed it with what she would need for the weekend even though she was only going to stay one night at Mona's. Like the rest of her family, Spencer always prepared for the worst and packed for that scenario. It was something that she had learned from her mother; one of the few positives.

Technically, Spencer had yet to receive permission to stay out overnight from her parents. She was still under lockdown until she had earned back her trust from her parents; something that won't happen for a while. But she was hoping that her parents would let her go since it was for school as well as the fact that she would be with the Vanderwaals.

After the first time that Spencer had been shuttled by Mona, it had occurred to Spencer that shat she knew next to nothing about Mona; other than that it was just she and her mother. From subtle conversations with her parents at dinner time, Spencer had learned that Leona Vanderwaal had been a major contributor to the campaign of the current mayor. This told Spencer that the woman was wealthy; wealthy enough to make sure that the DiLaurentis backed candidate lost the election.

This would be the first time that Spencer would have laid her eyes on Mona's mother and was curious to what she looked like. Though Rosewood was a small town, Spencer never really paid attention to what was really happening behind the scenes. She never attended the town events or public gatherings, preferring to spend time with her friends or studying.

Leona Vanderwaal was a nice woman according to her reputation. She was once of the town's biggest contributors to charity, even greater than Jessica DiLaurentis. Caring and compassionate, Leona was always seen at food drives and other events in Rosewood; although she was always absent from events hosted by Alison's mother. Spencer's father had always had something nice to say about Leona while her mother's opinion was neutral.

She was curious to how Mona's mother would treat her given her history with Alison.

"Spencer, time for dinner!" called her mother from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Spencer called back, getting up from sitting on her bed and heading out of her room.

Walking into the kitchen, Spencer saw that her parents had catered out for dinner. It wasn't surprising given that they had busy careers and almost never cooked; the only one who ever did any cooking was Spencer when she was on her own for dinner. Taking her seat at the table, it looked like it was just the three of them for the night; which worked out since she didn't want Melissa's interference in her plans for Saturday.

"How was school?" Veronica asked her daughter as she served the food. It was Asian night with Chinese cuisine.

"It was fine," Spencer answered as she took her plate from her mother.

"It's nice of Mona to give you rides to school and home; are you two friends now?" Peter asked before eating a dumpling.

"Kind of; speaking of which, Mona invited me to her house this weekend for cooperation on a class project and I was wondering if it would be okay to spend the night tomorrow at her house?" Spencer asked, looking at her food.

"But tomorrow is Melissa's party; don't you remember?" Veronica asked, giving Peter a look.

"But Melissa doesn't want me there and I am not really up to mixing it up with all of her friends," Spencer stated as she looked at her mother with almost a pleading look.

"Spencer, this animosity between you and your sister has got to end. This is a joyous occasion and you need to be there," Veronica said, causing Spencer's hopes to sink.

"Now wait Veronica, maybe we should let her. Tomorrow is all about Melissa and Spencer shouldn't have to attend given her fragile state," Peter said, apparently intervening on his younger daughter's behalf. Spencer was a little offended by the fragile state used to describe her but let it go since it gave her what she wanted.

"But it's too soon; we all agreed that Spencer shouldn't go anywhere without us until she could be trusted again," Veronica argued adamantly and Spencer felt a bit hurt by that; especially coming from her mother like that.

"But she needs to get out and not stay cooped up in her room. Besides, Leona Vanderwaal would make sure that Spencer would not get out of line around her daughter given how Alison treated her," Peter pressed and Veronica looked unsure. The way the two were talking it was like they were on opposite sides arguing a case.

Veronica Hastings gave her daughter a long look and Spencer met that look, almost pleading for her mother to let her go. Veronica still wasn't sure but realized that Spencer needed to get out of the house and be with a friend that wasn't Alison. Secretly, she blamed Alison for everything that happened to Spencer and hated the young girl as much as her husband hated Jessica.

With a reluctant sigh, Veronica gave her approval by nodding.

"Thank you; I'll check it to let you know everything is going okay," Spencer said, relieved that her parents were letting her do this.

"Yes you will; also, let us know if you go anywhere and that it is with either Mona or her mother. You are to go nowhere by yourself," Peter ordered and Spencer nodded quickly in compliance.

"I understand and thank you," Spencer said, meaning it whole heartily. She felt happy inside that she could get away from this house even though it was only for one night.

"When is Mona picking you up?" Veronica asked as she ate some of her chow mien.

"Tomorrow morning; before the party starts. We are going straight to her house and plan to spend the day doing schoolwork," Spencer informed her parents.

"Okay; make sure you are packed for the night and call if you need anything," Veronica said, smiling at her daughter.

"Ok," was all Spencer could say, trying not to sound happy that she had gotten her way for the first time in months.

"How is school going?" Peter asked, changing the subject. He decided to take advantage of his oldest daughter's absence to talk to Spencer without Melissa's involvement.

"Good; just concentrating on my classes," Spencer answered, going on alert.

"Good; that is what you should be doing. Don't get distracted by petty gossip and school stuff," Peter said, almost as if it were an order than actual advice. Spencer just gave a half-hearted smile and nodded.

"That doesn't mean you don't make friends. Just make sure that they share the same common interests as you," Veronica said, correcting her husband to some extent.

"Your mother's right; Alison was a horrible choice in a friend and you are lucky to be out from under her," Peter stated. While he was right, Spencer couldn't help but be slightly hurt at her father's words.

"What your father means is that Alison was not someone you could count on as a real friend as well as the others. She was pretty cruel and it is for the best that you are no longer friends with her," Veronica said, once again putting a lighter spin on Peter's words.

"I know; trust me, I am no longer deluded about Alison," Spencer said with a trace of venom in her voice. Peter and Veronica shared a look but said nothing at that.

The rest of the dinner went without incident. Although she never asked where Melissa and Wren were, she learned from over hearing her parents that the two were having dinner with some old college friends of Wrens. This worked out since Spencer had no desire to see her sister, whom she knew would just brag about the party in an effort to make herself look better compared to Spencer.

After helping to clean up after dinner, Spencer retreated to her room and packed the rest of her stuff for Saturday night.

Though she had her blinds partially closed, something from outside caught her eye and she went to the window. Spencer had avoided opening her blinds too much after coming home given that there was a line of sight between her room and Alison's next door. The last thing Spencer wanted to see was the sight of Alison having her former friends displayed in front of her.

Dimming the lights in her room, Spencer moved next to the window and slowly peaked over the side to look outside. From her vantage point, Spencer could clearly see across the way into Alison's room where she appeared to be arguing with her mother. Alison had left her window wide open for the entire world to see.

It had been a while since Spencer had seen Jessica DiLaurentis; especially since she was always next door taking care of the house. But as of late, Jessica hadn't been seen when Spencer came from or left for school. That was probably a good thing since Spencer wasn't sure how she would have been treated by Alison's mother; Spencer had seen her cold side more than once when she was still friends with Alison.

Jessica was wearing some sort of redcoat and appeared to be quite angry with Alison who was sitting on her bed. Alison appeared to be wearing some sort of yellow top that seemed a bit loose in Spencer's opinion. She had been there when Alison had first showed it off to the girls, which was the summer that Spencer had been kicked out of the group.

Alison had her back to Spencer so she couldn't see the reaction Alison had on her face. But knowing Alison so well, she had no doubt that her former friend was being sarcastic and witty which was her defense mechanism. When it came to direct confrontations with Alison by someone with a higher authority, she relied on this to get her way.

It was really childish when Spencer thought about it.

Her window was closed and Spencer was tempted to open it to see if she could listen in on the conversation. Spencer wasn't a snoop like others in her family but she was still a curious person; especially when it came to those who wronged her. The idea of Alison getting in trouble gave her a sense of glee and she wanted to know what it was that got her in so much trouble.

Getting on her hands and knees, she crawled underneath the window and reached hand up to grab the frame of the window. It was unlocked so it was easy to slide open but she made sure to do it slowly and quietly in order not to attract attention. As the window slowly opened, Spencer could make out some yelling coming next door.

There was something going on and Alison did something very wrong; but it was hard to make out what. The two houses were indeed close, but apparently not enough to make out what was going on in Alison's room. She could hear Jessica's yelling, but not the words. Spencer sighed in frustration and just sat on the floor.

Then she heard the name Noel and Spencer's ears perked up, trying once again to make out what was being said. It wasn't a whole lot but it sounded like Jessica was warning her daughter to stay away from Noel for some reason. Spencer then heard Alison scream at her mother and then a door slam.

Spencer was now perplexed on what to think. She had yet to give Noel an answer given that she still had until next week till homecoming. Hearing Noel's name being mentioned could mean a lot of things; that he was for or against Alison. The idea of a trap never left Spencer's mind but Noel could be telling the truth about taking Spencer to the dance to get back at Alison.

Of course that is if she was allowed to even go to the dance. Spencer might have gotten her way so that she could stay the night at Mona's but that didn't mean that her lockdown was ended. Going unsupervised to a school dance was going to be complicated and there was the risk that they would simply say no; which wouldn't really hurt Spencer either way other than losing the opportunity to rub her date in Alison's face.

Peaking over the window frame, Spencer saw that Alison had closed her window and drapes. There was some light coming from inside the room but not enough to show any type of shadow or shape. Usually this meant that Alison was on her phone in some manner, either talking or texting. Figuring that there was nothing more to see, Spencer closed up for the night.

Changing out of her clothes into her nightwear, Spencer lay in her bed and was starting to feel nervous about tomorrow. It would be the first time at someone else's house in almost three months and she wasn't sure how it will turn out. Even if it were for a class project, it was still something big that she hadn't done in a while.

It was going to be interesting, that was for sure.

Deciding that it was getting late, Spencer turned off the lights and pulled the covers over herself in order to get some sleep. Her plan was to get up early and have Mona pick her up around 10am so that she wouldn't get caught up with all of Melissa's friends; all whom were as smug and uptight as Melissa was.

Come to think of it, Spencer wondered if she would have the benefit of seeing Mona encounter Melissa again. There was history there and Spencer was curious to what since all she knew was that her sister had babysat Mona a few times when she was younger; it was at a time when Melissa had tried to impress their parents about how independent she could be in earning money. For the first time in her life, Spencer had seen her older sister be intimidated by someone who was her age and she felt giddy about seeing that again.

When she fell asleep, Spencer had a smile on her face for the first time in a long while.

**Please R&R!**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

Mona had arrived at Spencer's house a little early.

As she parked across the street, she had noticed all the catering vans pulling various things out and then heading to the back of the house.

It was a nice day for a party, with the sky clear and the weather report promising a cool wind from the east. There was a lack of activity at the DiLaurentis house, and Mona knew that Alison was at Emily's while her parents were in South Carolina for the weekend; they had apparently left early that morning. This guaranteed that Alison and her family would not be there to interfere with the Hastings gathering.

With a thoughtful smile, Mona got out of her car and then headed across the street. Instead of walking up to the front door and ringing the doorbell, she decides to check things out and follows the caterers to the back. Even without them, Mona knew where to go since she had scoped this place out a few times before being sent to Radley.

It was quite the setup in Mona's opinion. There were tables and chairs laid out, at least enough for about thirty people. There was a canopy already up to protect the guests from the sun, and dishes were being put out for the coming guests. It was all white and fancy, in which Mona had, no doubt had cost a pretty penny.

Technically if the party had been going on, Mona would have had the ability to blend in quite well with the crowd. She was wearing a blue sweater vest with an aqua skirt that went down to her knees. Her hair was straightened out and loose since she wasn't in the mood to wrap it up. Her purse was on her shoulder, bright red and expensive, making her fit in even more since all of Melissa's friends were usually of wealth like she was.

"What are you doing here?" asked a familiar voice from behind. Mona turned and smiled at the taller brunette who stood there and glared at her.

"And a hello to you too Melissa," Mona said with a mix of sarcasm and sweetness.

"Why are you here Mona; this party is for friends and family only," Melissa Hastings said as she fumed. The two were currently alone under the canopy, while the rest of the area was being set up.

"You don't think of me as a friend? I am so hurt," Mona said, faking a wounded tone and look at the older woman.

"Again, why are you here?" Melissa pressed, her anger rising. She may not be Alison but Melissa did not want Mona anywhere near here.

Before Mona could answer, Mrs. Hastings walked out from the backdoor that led to the kitchen. Spotting the two of them, she made her way towards them with a smile on her face. Mona had to admire the blue the business suit with a matching skirt that she was wearing; it made her look so professional. Melissa was wearing a pair of silver colored pants with a white blouse; complete with a pair of black high heels.

"Good morning Mona; Spencer will be right down," Veronica said as joined the pair under the canopy.

"What do you mean? I thought Spencer was going to be here for the party as well as study in her room?" Melissa asked, confused and caught off guard.

"Your father and I decided to let Spencer stay the night at Mona's house for a class project. Mona is here to pick her up," her mother informed and Melissa frowned at that.

"Thank you again for letting Spencer stay over; I promise that I will take good care of her," Mona said sweetly.

"I am sure you will," Veronica said with sincerity while Melissa rolled her eyes and shot Mona a glare.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Spencer has only been out of rehab for a little while," Melissa argued with a quick look to Mona.

"Melissa, not here," Veronica said with a sideways glance at Mona, indicating for Melissa to keep quiet.

Mona was tempted to say that the entire school already knew about Spencer's recent trip to Rehab and her drug habit; but decided against it. It might endanger the sleepover and Mona had plans for tonight that she didn't want anyone to interfere with. She wasn't surprised though that Melissa was objecting given their history.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Veronica asked, trying to confirm that Spencer was telling her the truth at dinner last night.

"My mom needed me to get something at the store but other than that, we are just heading straight to my house for the rest of the day and night," Mona informed the two.

"Wow that sounds different than your usual thing. I thought you liked to creep out at night and see the sights," Melissa practically mocked, but polite enough in front of her mother.

"I am more focused on my school now as well as my future; have a 4.0 GPA to maintain after all," Mona said, mimicking Melissa's tone from earlier.

"That is good; maintaining your grades is important. It's a shame that you are doing this project at your house, you would have been welcome to attend the party and spend the night," Veronica said and Melissa looked at her mother in panic.

"Why thank you Mrs. Hastings; I appreciate that. And by the way, congratulations on your nuptials Melissa." Mona said to Melissa with a sweet but mocking tone to those who knew Mona well.

"Why thank you Mona; I hope one day that you find that special someone to share your life with. Someone who can truly understand everything about you," Melissa said with her own sweet tone of voice. It was an insult, but Mona would not have responded to it anyways even if Veronica wasn't here.

"Well I am happy that you managed to after what happened with Ian; his death was such a shame and far too soon," Mona stated with a slight smirk. It took everything Melissa had to not wring the smaller girl's neck.

Before Veronica could respond, Spencer came out from the house with her backpack and a blue overnight bag. She was dressed in a green t-shirt with blue jeans as well as pair of running shoes; more casual than Mona has ever seen her. Her hair was in a ponytail and she wore little makeup, given the lack of need since it was the weekend.

"Ready to go?" asked Mona once Spencer had made her way to them. The look on her face indicated to Mona that Spencer desperately wanted to get out of dodge.

"Umm…..actually, I have to use the bathroom. Would that be okay?" Mona asked as she looked at Spencer and Veronica.

"That's fine; you can use the downstairs one in the hallway next to the kitchen," Veronica said, giving her permission.

"Thank you; here are my keys if you don't mind waiting for me in the car?" Mona inquired to Spencer.

"Sure," Spencer said, taking the keys from Mona, and giving her mom a quick kiss before heading to the car. Mona then headed to the house.

Mona knew where the bathroom was even without Mrs. Hastings directions; from her days of surveillance before her stint in Radley. Inside the house there were numerous caterers about, setting up for today's event and Mona could smell the food in the oven. From her senses, it seemed like Italian was on the menu for the day. After finding the bathroom and doing her business, Mona walked out to find Melissa standing there waiting for her in the hallway.

"What are you up to?" Melissa demanded to know, cornering the smaller girl.

"What are you talking about? I am just coordinating with Spencer on a class project," Mona said as if it were a matter of fact.

"Don't try to lie to me Mona; you leave my sister alone," Melissa warned as she took a step forward.

"The only thing I am doing is helping Spencer; unlike you," Mona stated, dropping all pretense of politeness.

"I am protecting her," Melissa stated as if it were true. Mona just scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Really? By treating her like crap and making everything all about you?" Mona mocked.

"By keeping her safe; from you and Alison," Melissa said with conviction.

"Then you are doing pretty lousy job. Alison has caused the school to alienate her, and is using her rehab stay against her. I am the only one who will be her friend when the rest had abandoned her," Mona informed the older sister with a snarl.

"Don't lie to me; you are trying to recruit Spencer for your war against Alison," Melissa accused, not buying what the smaller teen was selling.

Mona wasn't surprised that Melissa had figured out her plan, given that the older sister was every bit as smart and cunning as Mona was. Whether she knew it or not, Melissa had been Mona's mentor of sorts; in which Mona had learned a lot from her. Unfortunately for Melissa though, the student had surpassed the master and Mona was not intimidated in the least.

"What I am up to is of no concern of yours. What Spencer does is of her own free will and I will not pressure her into anything," Mona stated; not the truth not a full lie as well.

"I don't believe you," Melissa simply stated, trying to stare down the teen.

"Well I don't care; do what you want Melissa but I have more on you than you do on me. Remember that; after all, we wouldn't want all that stuff about you and Ian to get out," Mona said with a smirk, leaving a stunned Melissa behind while she left for the car.

Walking out of the house and towards the car, Mona had the biggest smirk on her face after the exchange with Melissa.

Though she was unsure of the older sister's desire to protect the younger sibling, it was clear that Melissa saw that Mona was a threat despite the bigger danger that was the blond next door. That was surprising since Mona hadn't really done anything to the Hastings in a negative way; they were not even on the hit list if Mona hadn't ended up in Radley. Speaking of which, Mona wondered if Melissa knew about that yet, and would attempt to point that out to her parents.

As expected, Spencer was already in the passenger seat when Mona arrived at the car, looking like she really wanted to leave. During her countless times of surveillance, Mona had seen the highly tense and rapid pace of a typical Hastings day, so it didn't surprise Mona in the least that Spencer wanted to get away from everything for even a day; it also didn't surprise her that Spencer cracked and went to rehab because of it.

In Mona's opinion, Spencer had always seemed different than her family. Unlike her parents and Melissa, Spencer had seemed more down to earth and willing to enjoy life; which was why she was able to be sucked into Alison's world. While she was super smart, Spencer never really had the will to fully dedicate her life to her future and ignore everything around her; unlike Melissa even though she had a lot of skeletons in her closet.

Most that Mona knew full well about.

"Sorry about that," Mona said as she got in the driver's side and buckled up; Spencer was already in her seatbelt.

"It's okay," Spencer said, smiling at the smaller girl.

"So I have to stop at the store for my mother before we get to my house if you don't mind," Mona stated and Spencer nodded signaling that it wasn't an issue.

"Looks like there are going to be a lot of people," Mona said as the car pulled out and headed away from the house.

"Yeah; most are Melissa's friends from school and a few of my parents as well," Spencer informed, a little uncomfortable.

"Ahh….I see; I can understand why you didn't want to be there," Mona stated and the taller teen looked over at her in surprise.

"Why do you say that?" Spencer asked, not sure what to make of Mona's statement.

"Only that it would be lonely since you would be the only one there without any real people that you could relate to," Mona answered, making sure that Spencer wasn't going to be offended.

"Oh…..yeah," Spencer said in agreement, calming down a bit.

"Are you fine with French cuisine?" Mona asked after a minute of silence between the two. Spencer nodded and concluded that it must be for dinner since she would obviously be eating at Mona's for the night.

"Cool; I should only be a few minutes. Was there anything you wanted?" Mona inquired as she pulled into the parking lot of the town's main grocery mart.

"Umm…..does your family drink coffee?" Spencer asked, realizing that she couldn't last a night without the stuff.

"My mother lives on the stuff; but she drinks foreign brands if that is ok," informed the smaller teen.

"That's fine as long as its coffee," declared Spencer and Mona smiled.

"I'll be right back then," Mona stated hurried to the store to grab what she needed.

Rosewood only really had one shopping mart with smaller ones scattered around town that catered more to specialty dishes. As soon as she entered the building, Mona had grabbed a cart and pulled out her phone where the list her mother had provided in a text was on. Looking through the list, Mona went down various aisles and grabbed what she needed as quickly as possible so that she could get back to the car.

As soon as she was done, Mona paid for the items and made her way out of the building and thankfully found that Spencer was still in the car. Mona had considered that the taller teen might get cold feet and try to slip away. However, given that Spencer had nowhere else to go because of her lack of friends it wasn't a real serious possibility.

It was another ten minutes before the two had arrived at Mona's house and Spencer found herself surprised on how old fashioned it look compared to the rest of the houses in the town. It looked to be an old Victorian style blue house with quite a large yard; larger than the one that was shared with the DiLaurentis family. It was also well kept and Spencer wondered if Mona's mother had a green thumb like Jessica.

"Mi Casa, Su Casa," Mona said as she parked the car and the two got out. Spencer helped Mona carry the groceries inside.

"I'm home," called out Mona as the two teens made their way inside. Spencer marveled on how the house looked as old fashioned on the inside as the outside; right down to the furniture. There were some modern appliances like a computer and flat screen television, but that was it so far.

"Welcome back," Leona Vanderwaal greeted as she emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands with a dish towel.

It was as if Spencer was seeing what Mona would look like when she was much older given that the two looked so similar. From the face to the hair, it was almost eerie to Spencer on how much the mother and daughter shared features. Spencer and her mother had their similar traits, but they paled compared to the Vanderwaal women.

"Mother, this is Spencer," Mona said and Spencer stepped forward, offering her hand. It looked a little awkward but she wasn't sure what to do.

"Well hello Spencer; it is nice to meet you," Leona said and she sounded very nice in Spencer's opinion. The teen noticed a caring glint in the woman's eyes; a glint that she got from her mother but only on rare occasions.

"I got the stuff you wanted," Mona stated, showing her mother the bags in her hands as well as Spencer's.

"Let's get them put away" Leona said and the two teens followed the older woman followed the woman into the kitchen.

The kitchen was just as old fashioned as the rest of the house; with the original paint and wooden flooring. The only modern appliances besides the microwave and refrigerator were the stove and even that looked like it was about twenty years old. There was no dish washer and the coffee maker looked like it was from the early last century. Actually, it looked like there were many types of coffee makers; some going back to various time periods.

"Just put them on the counter," Leona said and the two girls complied. She then proceeded to put stuff away.

"Did you need any help?" Mona asked her mother.

"No thank you honey; go ahead and get Spencer situated for the night," Leona said, smiling at her daughter and Spencer.

"Ok; let's go to my room," Mona said to Spencer and the taller teen nodded; following the smaller girl with her overnight bag in her hand and the backpack on the shoulder.

Going upstairs, the two made their way down the hallway and into Mona's room. Once inside, Spencer's eyes widened at the sight of the room; nothing like what she had imagined. Not only were their dolls everywhere, on shelves and other places; but it was the French look of the room that really set it apart from every bedroom that Spencer had ever been in.

Like the rest of the house, it was so old fashioned that Spencer wondered if the family knew what century they were living in. If it weren't for the computer in the corner and the Ipad charging on a shelf next to the bed, Spencer might have wondered if she had gone back in time. Despite its appearance though, Mona's room looked so homely and so full of life that Spencer almost felt a little jealous.

As her bags were put on the bed, Spencer knew that it was going to be an interesting night.

**Please R&R and a special thanks to my Beta for the pre-read!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

Spencer was a little creeped out by the dolls.

As she sat on the bed and waited for Mona to get back from getting some coffee and cookies, Spencer looked around the room.

The walls were a green paint with white baseboards. The bed she was on was quite old and had a metal frame with pink bedding. The shelves and bookcases were all wood, painted with either white or brown. The carpet was grey but looked like it was cleaned routinely since there was a lack of stains or any noticeable dirt.

What grabbed Spencer was how different the room was compared to Alison's back when they were still friends. While Alison's room was more as a shrine to herself than anything else, Mona's room was more personal. Unlike the large amount of pictures that Alison had of herself scattered around her room, the few photos that Mona had were of herself with elements of family; and even then, she wasn't the center of attention.

There were a few bookshelves filled with lots of books of different sorts. Some were past schoolbooks from previous years while others were a little mainstream though few in number. Most of them though were very old editions of classics that Spencer recognized; with some editions in French. In fact, there were lots of novels in French and they had the appearance of being well-read.

One title that stood out because there were quite a lot of editions was "The Count of Monte Cristo".

On top of a large white dresser was an old record player that looked like it was used quite a bit; there was a record in it and no dust. Next to it an antique jewelry box, all closed up and matched the French look of the room. On the walls were pictures of various French monuments with a painting of the Eiffel Tower directly over Mona's bed.

While Spencer was never really into dolls, preferring to read books than playing with them as a toddler, she always had an indifference to them; Alison had a few in her room but not much compared to Mona. The dolls in the room were the ones you saw in horror movies whose eyes always seemed like they were following you. There wasn't anything malevolent about them but they were still creepy none the less.

Other than that, Spencer rather liked the room; there was life here.

Opening up her backpack, Spencer pulled out her school stuff and laid them out on the bed next to Mona's stuff. She had put her overnight bag next to Mona's dresser, forgetting to ask where she was going to sleep. While the bed was definitely big enough for the both of them, Spencer wasn't sure about doing that even if it were for one night. Maybe there was a guest room that Spencer could stay in since the house looked like it had a few spare rooms.

Something caught her eye and Spencer stood up, walking over to the other side of the bed where an old rotary telephone from the early last century lay on the night stand. It was rather large, gold colored, and appeared to be plugged in. There was writing on it, German to be exact, and Spencer wondered where Mona had gotten it. Picking up the receiver, Spencer was surprised that there was a dial tone; making her curious if she could call home with it.

"Sorry for the wait; the coffee took a little time to brew," Mona said as she walked into the room with a large tray in her hands. On it was two coffee cups and a plate of cookies that looked rather good; though it was the coffee that Spencer desired the most.

"No problem; I was just checking out your room if you didn't mind," Spencer said, giving the smaller girl a smile.

"Go ahead; what do you think?" Mona asked, curious to what her guest thought.

"It's very nice; I find the French look rather interesting," Spencer said, taking in the aroma from the cup in her hands,

"Thank you; I love France and everything French related. I plan on living there after I am done with high school," Mona informed, putting the tray on top on the bed.

"What do you plan on doing there?" Spencer asked, taking a sip of her drink. It was definitely a foreign brand and she could not place the type.

"I plan on majoring in psychology and computer science; which will give me a variety of choices in France and other parts of Europe," Mona said as she bit into a cookie. Unlike Spencer, she preferred tea and had her mother fix her some earl gray.

"I see," said Spencer, glad that at least Mona had a plan for after high school that she wanted to do. It was pretty well decided that Spencer would follow her parents into field of law and become a lawyer like the rest of the family.

"I have always been good with computers and am fascinated with what happens with the mind, so I picked those two fields for my future," the smaller girl informed, taking a seat on the bed.

"Is that because of you going to Radley?" Spencer asked, grabbing one of the cookies and taking a bite. These had to be one of the best cookies she's ever tasted in a long time; at home, she was used to store bought cookies than home baked.

"More or less; I am curious to what makes people who they are," Mona said, leaning back against the bedframe. She appeared not to take offense at Spencer's question which was a little personal.

"I can understand that," Spencer said and she meant it. Between Alison and her sister, she had also wondered why people acted the way they did; especially those who made it their way of life to hurt others.

"What about you? What are your plans for after school?" Mona asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Becoming a lawyer like my parents," Spencer answered as a matter of fact. It was pretty much set in stone so there was nothing more to say. Mona nodded, not saying anything in response to that.

"You have a lot of dolls," Spencer stated, trying to be polite as possible. She was a guest and wanted to make a good impression.

"You think they are creepy," Mona said, knowing what the answer was.

"A little; but I never understood dolls so, sorry," said the taller girl, offering a sincere apologetic look.

"It's ok; it's just that my dolls have always been my friends when I had none at school. They have been my constant companions," Mona told Spencer, being completely honest.

"I am sorry about that," Spencer said, feelings of guilt popping up as well as bad memories.

"Why are you sorry? I understand that Alison used you as a puppet," Mona stated, catching Spencer by surprise. She decided not to use the word doll given that Mona wanted to make Spencer feel more comfortable here.

"So does that phone work?" Spencer asked, motioning to the antique next to Mona and quickly changing the subject. The conversation was starting to make her feel uncomfortable and she didn't want to run away.

"Yes; I dabble in engineering and fixed it up so that I could use it. My mom got it for me at a shop in Boston a few years ago," Mona said, looking at the object with pride.

"With the way your room is, I am surprised it is not French too," Spencer said, looking around.

"It is actually; the family that originally owned the phone carved their family name into the copper. Back when this phone first came out, this was a high end product," Mona informed the teen.

"Wow; well it looks cool. I've never been into antiques but maybe we should go to a shop some time," Spencer said, surprising Mona with the offer.

Originally, Spencer wasn't sure she was ready to take that plunge on reaching out to Mona. She was still nervous after what happened with Alison and was afraid of being betrayed again. However, after coming to Mona's house and meeting her mother, Spencer realized that Mona could be the friend she was looking for. It was just a shame that she lost the others in the process of gaining a true friend.

"I would like that," Mona said and she meant it.

After another few minutes of chit chat, Mona pulled out her own books and the two began working on their project; coordinating on who had what to write as well as which research to dole out. It was nice for a change that Spencer had a partner that could do her share of the work instead of her doing it all; Alison often dumped everything on her while the others could never keep up.

Occasionally, Spencer and Mona would talk about what books they liked as well as television shows; finding that they did share some common interests. Spencer was always the odd man out when it came to certain interests when she had still been a part of Alison's group and it was nice to find someone who she could talk things over with. It was an added benefit that Mona could keep up with her intellectually.

After a while, there was a knock at the door and Mona's mother appeared to tell the two teens that it was time for dinner. Spencer was glad for that since she was surprisingly hungry; the cookies were not enough to fill Spencer completely. The two put down their books and followed Leona downstairs to the kitchen.

As Spencer made her way down the steps, the smell from the food hit her nose like a ton of bricks. Not only was the aroma good, but there was a sense of that it was a real home cooked meal. Granted, Spencer often had food that various family members had cooked themselves; but something that smelled that fancy was usually catered than prepared by any family member. She wondered if this was the norm for the mother and daughter when it came to their meals together.

The table in the dining room was set for three on an old square wood table. The chairs were equally old and seemed to match the style of the table which was oak. The plates seemed like fine china and the silverware looked like it could be real silver; though Spencer had seen some really good fakes before. In the center of the food were several tall candles lighting up the room.  
>Spencer wondered if Mona's mother had gone all out because she was here or if this was the usual thing for dinner time in this family.<p>

"Wow," was all that Spencer could say as she looked at all the food on the table.

"I hope you don't mind duck; Mona said that you didn't have a problem with French cuisine," Leona said as the three woman took their seats. Spencer and Mona sat across from one another while Leona sat in the middle of them.

"No; I don't think I have actually have had it before," Spencer admitted, looking at the meat on her plate. At first glance, she had mistaken it for chicken but heard that it was good and very meaty. Spencer's father had a certain allergy when it came to poultry dishes; which was probably why they never had duck at home.

"It's the best; we have duck more than any other meat," Mona said as she scooped some roasted red potatoes onto her plate.

"Do you two usually eat like this?" Spencer asked once everyone had finished putting food on their plates. Besides the roasted potatoes, there was steamed asparagus and dinner rolls.

"Pretty much; we always have dinner together," Leona said as she smiled at her daughter. Spencer could see that the two were close and there was that strong feeling of envy again that came from inside her.

"Besides school, I am usually always home so this is pretty much the routine," Mona informed in between bites.

Spencer saw the concerned look on Leona's face and there was once again a feeling of guilt since it was obvious that Mona didn't have any friends; primarily because of Alison. She wondered if Mona's mother had any resentment towards those who had caused her daughter so much pain; she knew that her mother would have given the hurt that Spencer had gone in these last few months.

"So Spencer, Mona tells me that Melissa is now married; tell her I said congratulations next time you see her," Leona said.

"I will; you haven't seen her?" Spencer inquired, wondering how much Melissa retained contact with her former clients. From what Spencer knew, Leona Vanderwaal had been Melissa's biggest payday.

"No; she stopped coming by after she was done with babysitting. I remember Mona saying that she always found Melissa fun," Leona said and Spencer nearly laughed out loud at that given that it was hard to believe.

Mona smirked to herself as well; though for different reasons. When Melissa had come over to babysit, she would often remark how Mona needed to assert herself more and concentrate on her studies; mostly so that Melissa could do her own schoolwork without the distraction. It was during those times that Mona had studied her babysitter intently in order to be more like her. Even back then, Melissa had carried herself like a queen in this town.

Until Alison took that position for herself and wielded it like an iron fist.

"I will make sure to let her know what you said; Melissa will appreciate it," Spencer lied; knowing that Melissa wouldn't probably care less.

"Thank you; I forgot to ask, are you going to homecoming next week?" Leona asked Mona as she sat there and ate.

"Alison will be there for sure and I couldn't get a date," Mona said, shrugging her shoulders. Leona frowned but held her tongue; cursing Alison in her mind.

"What about you Spencer?" Leona inquired, looking at the teen.

"I don't know; I got asked but dances aren't really my scene anymore," Spencer stated with a half-smile.

"Well if you got asked, you should go," Leona said, almost in a motherly way.

"Well I am not sure I would be allowed to go; I had a hard summer and am a little under restriction," Spencer admitted. Secrets in this town were never kept and Spencer suspected that Mona's mother already knew about her stint in rehab by now; if Mona hadn't already told her.

"I think you should go; you just got to be extra careful since it was Noel who asked you," Mona suddenly said, getting involved in the conversation. It was now time to implement the plan.

"Well if you have a date, even if it is a Kahn, you should not pass it up. You can't let a bad time in your life ruin high school for you," Leona said, trying to make that point to both the teens next to her.

"I am still thinking about it; but maybe you are right," Spencer admitted after considering the older woman's words.

The rest of the meal went well; with less serious conversation taking place. Spencer found out that Leona was an editor for a publisher as well as having other qualifications. After dinner was done, both Mona and Spencer had taken care of the cleaning; which Spencer didn't mind. After having a little desert, in the form of homemade éclairs, the two retired up to Mona's room for the rest of the night.

"So where am I going to sleep?" Spencer asked once they had entered the room.

"I was going to let you have the bed while I take the cot underneath my bed," Mona answered as she got on her knees to reach under her bed and grab the sleeping device.

"I can take the couch downstairs," Spencer offered, not comfortable in having Mona give up her own bed.

"It's no problem; take the bed and enjoy your night out," Mona said, shaking her head. After a minute of silence with Mona pulling attachments out from underneath the bed, Spencer decided on another course of action.

"We could share the bed," Spencer stated, making the offer. The last time she had shared a bed with someone, it was with Aria when she had stayed the night about six months ago.

"Are you sure?" Mona asked, inwardly grinning that things were working out.

"It's not a problem; I don't snore," Spencer said, smiling at the smaller girl. She wasn't expecting anything weird and decided to take a chance.

"Ok; then," Mona said, taking the offer and sliding things back underneath the bed.

The two didn't immediately head to bed; rather spend a bit more time on their homework as well as other stuff. Mona put on some music and Spencer enjoyed the classic French tune while she wrote. The two made small talk and later changed into their sleeping attire; with Mona in a purple pair of pajamas while Spencer donned shorts and a white t-shirt. The bathroom was right next to Mona's room so she had changed in there.

Just before eleven, Leona had popped in and had said goodnight to the two teens before heading to her room for the night. After a little while longer, the two decided to call it quits for the night as well. They climbed into bed and shut off the light. At first Spencer felt a little strange sleeping next to another girl that wasn't from the old gang; appreciating that the bed was big enough for the two of them while still being able to be comfortable.

Eventually, Spencer fell asleep and rolled over so that she was facing Mona.

Mona watched her in the darkness and when Spencer was slightly snoring, moved in a little closer. Looking at the sleeping teen, Mona smiled at the thought that she now had a friend again; though this time, she would keep her and not lose her to Alison. She had warned her about Noel and that was enough; let Spencer become like her.

**Please R&R and a special thanks to my Beta Paraddicted for the read!**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

**This chapter is a little intense at the end and I apologize if I was too brutal with what happens to Spencer; Please leave reviews to let me know what you think and if I handled the emotional part well. A Special Thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read. **

Spencer waited patiently for Noel to arrive.

Melissa had already left for the dance; as one of the chaperones for Homecoming, she had to get to the school early.

As much as Spencer didn't want Melissa to be anywhere near the dance, it was because of her that she was even allowed to go. When Spencer first proposed going to the dance with Noel, the answer had been a definite no by her parents. But Spencer kept pressing until it was announced by Melissa, who just stormed into the conversation, that she would be helping with the running of the dance.

It had been amusing as Hell to see Melissa's eyes bulge when it was suggested by their father that Melissa could watch Spencer at the dance. When the older sister started to object, it was a quick look from Peter that silenced Melissa; sealing the deal for Spencer. While it was a bit aggravating to see that Melissa was going to be watching her all night, it still meant that she was going.

Besides, there was always the chance that Melissa would do as she always did and just ignore her.

Spencer's mother had gone with her to pick out the dress since she had yet to get her allowance back. It was of the first mother-daughter outings that the two had gone on in a long time; the last being a few years ago and even then it was for an event involving Melissa. It was nice that Spencer and her mother could go dress shopping; it actually felt like a family thing.

The dress that they had picked out was a little more conservative than what the other girls would be wearing at Homecoming, but still made Spencer noticeable. It was white and satin, coming down the knees and showing a tiny bit of cleavage. After arriving home with the dress, Spencer had hung it up in her room so that it would not get any wrinkles and be fresh for the day of the dance.

When that day had come, Mona had come over to help Spencer with her makeup and hair. The smaller teen still wasn't going, which Spencer didn't press her on, and gave Spencer one last bit of warning about Noel. While the taller teen was grateful that Mona cared about her well being, she felt that her friend was going a bit overboard and that there was nothing to worry about. From what Spencer could tell by observation at school, Noel was on the up and up.

After helping Spencer with her makeup, Mona had helped with the hairstyle which came out rather well. Spencer was wearing her hair long, but slightly curled as more of a style. It was naturally colored but Mona had gone through it for any greyness or dead hair. She had even been gentle with the curly iron; far more than Alison had ever been when she used to dress Spencer up for the dances.

After Spencer was ready, Mona had left for home; offering to drive Spencer to the dance if she had wanted. Spencer had turned down the offer, saying that Noel was going to pick her up. She now waited in the front room with her father, who was watching the basketball game, for her date to arrive. She sat there nervously while Peter was fixated on the television.

She felt nervous; which she should be. This would be her first time going to any school event since the last school year. Spencer had originally planned to avoid going to any of these events; opting to focus on just graduation and nothing else. But the chance of sticking it to Alison was just too much to pass up; especially after what Alison had done to her all those months ago.

The doorbell rang and Spencer jumped up to get it; with only her and her father being in the house. Spencer's mother had to work late and Wren had his internship with the local hospital tonight. That meant that she only had to worry about her father and her date, instead of the rest of the family. Making it to the front door before her father, Spencer opened up to find Noel standing there with flowers.

"Wow, you look great," Noel said as he checked Spencer out after handing her the bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you," Spencer said nervously, still in wonderment that she was going with Noel Kahn to the dance even though it was just for revenge.

"Ready to go?" he asked, looking at the time with his cell phone.

"Yeah, just let me grab my jacket since it's supposed to rain tonight," Spencer said, as she turned to head back to the front room while Noel waited in the entry way.

"Is that your date?" Peter asked as he put the game on mute and walked towards his daughter.

"Yeah; we're leaving," Spencer said as she grabbed her things.

"Hey," Peter said, stopping her "You have fun tonight and don't let Alison get you down." He did it in such a caring and fatherly way, that Spencer nearly fainted.

"I will; thank you," Spencer said with a smile, kissing her father on the cheek. She then left him and headed back to Noel.

He must have borrowed the car from a family member because Noel had a red corvette parked in front of the house. Being a gentleman, he opened the passenger side door for Spencer before getting in himself. He then peeled out onto the road a little faster than Spencer would have liked but found it exciting none the less.

"Nice car," Spencer said as Noel drove.

"Thanks; my brother Eric loaned it to me for the night," Noel informed her with a smirk. From the way he sounded, it seemed like that there was a chance that Noel had the car without his brother knowing about it.

"So how do you want to do this?" Spencer asked, becoming all business.

"We hang out together all through the dance and act all cuddly in front of Alison. We may have to plant a few wet ones to really get to her," Noel said, giving Spencer a look that was almost a leer.

"Just on the cheek; we don't want to go overboard and make it unbelievable," Spencer stated dryly. Noel smiled and nodded, but Spencer suspected that he was disappointed. While Noel was a perfect way to get revenge on Alison, he was still a slime ball in a ways. It was another few more minutes of silence before Noel spoke up again.

"Alison isn't bringing a date," her date informed.

"Really?" Spencer asked, slightly shocked.

"Well she likes to be the life of the party so Alison isn't content on sharing the spotlight with anyone else," Noel said and Spencer agreed with him. She wondered if any of her other former friends were bringing dates; she doubted it though since that meant that Alison would not be at the center of their lives.

After about ten minutes of driving, the two reached the school and surprisingly found a parking spot in the front. Getting out of the car, Spencer felt a slight chill in the air as the darkened sky lacked any stars. The weather report called for heavy showers tonight and she hoped that the rain would wait until she was home in bed.

Taking her arm in his, Noel and Spencer made their way to the school entrance.

There were other students alongside them, some talking in hushed whispers, glancing in their direction. While she put on her fake smiles and greeted everyone, she felt that her fellow students were confused that she was here with one of the most popular guys at school. Noel just shrugged off the people with his signature smile, and Spencer was glad that he could do that.

The school had gone all out with the decorations; brightly colored paper banners lined the halls towards the gym where the dance was being held. At the entrance of the gym sat two of the chaperons who were there to check the teens in. On the wall next to them were the rules for the dance; which was the normal set of guidelines for any school event. There were several lines in bold print that stated that drugs and alcohol were forbidden under any circumstances.

This wasn't a problem for Spencer but she had wondered if Noel was going to obey those rules; it was a part of their agreement but he was always a wild card.

"Shall we?" asked Noel as he started to lead Spencer into the auditorium after checking in. She nodded and was led inside.

It was loud inside the auditorium and Spencer winced as she tried to focus on what was going on around her. She and Noel were still getting stares but everyone seemed more focused on their own thing rather than them. There was still no sign of Alison, but Spencer suspected that she would be making a grand appearance sooner or later. She also didn't see Melissa and was curious to where she was at.  
>Then again, Spencer could actually care less where Melissa was as long as she stayed away and left her in peace.<p>

"Want a drink?" Noel asked, yelling over all the music and talking.

"Sure; something diet if they have it," Spencer said. Noel nodded and headed to the punch table to grab them drinks.

She huddled in the corner by herself, giving the occasional polite smile to those she knew. As more people showed up, the room began to get tighter, and it was hard to keep to herself while she waited for Noel to return. Spencer was starting to regret her decision by doing this; wondering if it was too late to escape. Perhaps she could fake a sickness and get Noel to take her home.

Noel was making his way back to her with their drinks when a familiar face entered the room; Alison had finally made an appearance. Dressed in a long golden dress that went down to her knees and matching high heels, Alison seemed to be surveying the room. Next to her was Hanna who almost mimicked the blond down to the dress; but unlike Alison's dress which smoothly fit her, Hanna's seemed a little bulky especially with her chest.

Aria and Emily were dressed in similar styles, though the colors were plainer than what the other two members of the group were wearing. While Aria went for the black dress, Emily was wearing white that made her look rather nice in Spencer's opinion. Unfortunately, it was the hairstyle that was the turnoff; like Alison, all the girls seemed to be wearing a ponytail even though the hairstyle didn't match a couple of the girls.

Alison's eyes met Spencer's and the two gave each other a hard look until Noel returned with the drinks. After that, Alison began to smirk at her former friend and Spencer narrowed her eyes; trying to hide her confusion at the change of behavior. The smirking was unsettling her since Spencer knew that look rather well; it usually meant that some sort of scheme was being hatched and she wandered if it was at her expense.

"Wanna dance?" Asked Noel as he eyed Alison and motioned to the dance floor. Spencer, startled, looked from Alison to her date and nodded. He then took her hand in his and the two made their way to where the couples were dancing.

Once they were on the dance floor, Noel held her close while they slow danced to the soft beat of the music. Even though they were just pretending, Spencer felt happy at being this close to another human being for the first time in months. Keeping the façade up, she placed her head on his chest and wondered how it looked to Alison.

Unfortunately for Spencer though, she missed the connecting smirks between Alison and Noel.

The dance went on for another ten minutes before Noel had to make a trip to the bathroom. While she waited for him to return, Spencer decided to go check out some of the booths that had been set up earlier. Walking over to them, she saw a few familiar game booths and even a fortune teller. They were manned by various teachers and that is where Spencer finally spotted her sister.

Melissa was manning one of the games with another teacher; pretty miserable by the looks of it with the clown outfit she had to wear. She had to take the student's money while they were given a ball to throw; winning a prize if they hit anything. It took every ounce of will that Spencer had not to go over and play, just to force Melissa to be polite like she had to everyone who came to the booth. There was always that look in her sister's eyes when she was forced to do something and Spencer could see it full on currently, trying not to laugh at the situation.

Something caught her eye and Spencer spotted Aria by herself, sneaking into one of the booth tents. Curious, the teen followed her former friend, looking around to see if any other member of the posse was around. Seeing no one other than the distracted crowd, Spencer made her way to where Aria had entered; nearly gasping out loud to what she saw inside the booth.

Not only was Aria making out with someone, which was completely out of character for the short teen, but it appeared to be with a far older man. What really shocked Spencer though was that it appeared to be a teacher that was locking lips with her former friend; the new English teacher Ezra Fitz. While she didn't have any classes with him, Spencer had heard of his reputation and that half the female student body had a crush on him.

While she spied them making out, Spencer found it amazing that Aria had managed to keep this affair a secret for so long without it being found out. From the looks of them, it appeared that this relationship had been going on for a while; making her wonder if Alison knew about it. When it came to stuff like this though, it was hard to see Alison condoning something like this since she wanted all of her group under her thumb.

What Spencer found a bit disturbing was not only that Aria was dating her teacher, but that they were taking such a huge risk by making out in the booth when anyone could just stumble in and catch them given the age difference, Mr. Fitz could go to jail and Aria's reputation be harmed greatly around town; especially if Alison became angered about the huge secret and kick Aria out of her group like she did with Spencer. She wondered when they met and how they managed to find time to maintain such a forbidden relationship in a town this small.

Seeing that Noel was coming back from the bathroom area, Spencer headed away from the booth and made sure to meet him away from the scene inside. While Spencer could keep a secret, Noel would use something like this to his advantage and people would get hurt. While she disapproved of what Aria was doing, maybe something like this would break her former friend away from Alison's toxic hold.

"So their having a little dance contest and we are first," informed Noel as he led them back to the dance floor. The students had encircled the area and appeared to be waiting for something to happen.

"Wait …what?" asked Spencer, startled, wondering what he was talking about.

"Come on, it will be fun," Noel said, not explaining to her what was happening. He led her by the hand onto the dance floor where everyone was staring.

"Wait Noel, what is this?" Spencer inquired; panic seeping into her voice as they danced in front of the attending student body. Everyone's stares were starting to get to her and she became alarmed by the twisted smile that Alison was giving her.

"Just relax, something fun is about to happen," Noel stated and the change of demeanor was starting to scare her. His tone had become too playful and harsh; something she had seen in the past when he was about to prank someone.

That is when she saw it; a black x on the floor right below them. Looking at the x in confusion, Spencer looked to Noel for an answer when he suddenly pushed himself away from her, leaving her alone on the dance floor. Spencer saw that she was now directly on the x and something seemed very wrong about that. Something caused her to look up and she saw a huge container directly over where she was standing.

Her instincts sounding the alarm, Spencer tried to move quickly to get out of the way. However, it was too late when the container flipped over and its contents poured all over the helpless teens. Spencer was then drenched head to toe, her dress ruined. When her mind finally contemplated what just happened, the laughing started.

Not only was everyone laughing at Spencer for what just happened, she just stood there in total shock. The smell from the containers contents confirmed that it was some alcohol of some kind. Unintentionally, she licked her lips and tasted several drugs mixed in with the alcohol. To her horror, she tasted a familiar drug; one that took her months of rehab to be free of. In her state of horror, she looked at Alison who just smiled at her in the most twisted way possible. She then looked at Noel, who was also joining in on the laughing, which made her conclude that he had played her.

Teachers were stating to break through the crowd and Spencer could hear yelling going on in the background. Melissa quickly hurried to Spencer's side, finding her sister shut down and a mess. While Principal Hackett called for order and demanding answers, Melissa and a friend of hers tried to lead Spencer away from the crowd of students; finding it hard to do given her sister's state.

Suddenly, Spencer violently shoved her older sister away and ran through the students; knocking over anyone was in her way. Before anyone could stop her, Spencer had run out of the auditorium and into the hallway. The attendees, who hadn't been inside when the prank had occurred, looked at Spencer with confusion. Aria was there with Ezra and to her credit; she showed concern for her former friend.

But Spencer was too out of it to care and she then ran to the exit, shoving more people aside as she left the building. She ran into the rain as the clouds had opened up and were causing a downpour. Spencer had left her things inside so she didn't have her jacket to wrap her body with; she was too messed up inside to care. All Spencer knew was that she had to escape and she ran into the parking lot as the rain fell down upon her.

Losing a shoe along the way, Spencer vanished into the darkness and ran until she could not anymore. She didn't know how long she had run for, only that it was for a great while given the distance from the school. She had lost her shoes along the way and her feet hurt from them being unprotected on the streets of Rosewood. She fell to her knees and started crying, staying like that for a while.

By the time she had composed herself, Spencer was cold and feeling sick. She had to get somewhere, but didn't want to go home. Blindly walking down the street, she realized where she was and knew of a safe place to go. Spencer could only hope that Mona was still up and would take her in.

If she could make it.

Please R&R!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

She wasn't expecting any visitors.

Mona had come downstairs from her room to grab something to eat when she heard the knock at the front door.

Her mother was still upstairs working on something, so Mona went to the door to see who it was. It was pretty late, and the rain could be heard hammering against the windows outside which Mona always enjoyed listening to when lying in bed; her favorite pastime was curling up with a book with the rain coming down. Making sure that the chain was still on the door, she cracked it open to see who it was.

Mona's eyes widened when she saw Spencer standing there, a complete mess. Closing the door enough to undo the chain, she opened the door wide and felt the cold wind on her skin as she pulled Spencer inside. There was a mumble of a thank you from the taller girl but it was barely heard since she was shaking violently from being soaked head to toe.

While Mona quickly left Spencer to grab a towel, she noticed that her friend didn't have her shoes on and her feet seemed beat up. It was obvious that Spencer had traveled all the way from school and made herself sick in doing so. After grabbing a few towels from the hall closet, she came back to Spencer who had collapsed on the floor in front of the door. Mona wrapped the towels around her friend in an effort to warm her up.

The smell coming from the taller girl was rank of alcohol and other drugs, covering all of her upper body. As she worked to dry her, it was apparent to Mona that Alison had gotten Spencer pretty bad with the prank she had planned with Noel. While Lucas had told Mona about what materials that Noel was looking for as well as that he was still friendly with Alison, what the two were planning had still been unknown.  
>Mona, to her credit, had tried to warn Spencer, but still felt slightly guilty for not going into detail of what she knew.<p>

Then again, Spencer needed to be taught this lesson. She needed to continue to understand how bad Alison really is, and that the blond had to be stopped. Spencer was a smart girl and now there was an opportunity for Mona to bring her into the fold. It was a shame that her friend had to be hurt in order for this to happen, but it couldn't be helped.

"Honey, who is it?" asked Leona to her daughter as stood at the top of the steps. She had heard the front door open up and came to investigate.

"It's Spencer; something happened," Mona said from her position at Spencer's side. Mona was helping Spencer to her feet and off the floor.

"Oh my God; what happened?" Leona asked with concern as she came down the stairs and got a good look at their visitor, who was wrapped in towels. From her perspective, Spencer looked to be in a daze and non-coherent.

"Alison," was all that Mona said, looking at her mother in shared concern. Leona instantly understood and offered a look of sympathy for the taller girl.

"Do you need me to do anything?" asked Mona's mother as she watched her daughter lead Spencer to the stairs.

"Umm…..could you make some coffee? I am going to get Spencer cleaned up," stated her daughter and Leona nodded.

"Also, would it be alright if Spencer stayed the night; maybe the weekend?" Mona asked as the two started to go up the stairs.

"If her parents say yes, I don't have a problem with it," answered Mona's mother and her daughter smiled, grateful for her mother's permission.

Now the challenge was getting Spencer's parents to agree which might happen, if Mona played her cards right.  
>The two made it to the top of the stairs and Spencer stopped shivering though her skin still felt cold to Mona's touch. There was a chance that Spencer might be sick in the morning, possibly the flu so it was important for Mona to get her into the shower right away. Guiding her friend into her room, Mona closed her door and sat Spencer on the bed while she started the shower.<p>

"Let's get you out of those clothes," Mona said as she unwrapped the towels covering Spencer, letting them fall onto the ground. The smell had returned after being suppressed by the towels, and Mona did her best to ignore it though she would have to crack open her window to get rid of the smell.

"Thank you," Spencer mumbled as Mona peeled her dress off of her, leaving the taller teen in her white bra and p***.

"It's not a problem Spencer, let me take care of you," Mona said softly and her friend nodded, letting Mona do what she needed to do.

Ridding Spencer of her undergarments and putting them onto the dress, Mona led her friend to the hot shower in the bathroom. Closing the bathroom door slightly, Mona opened the glass door and guided Spencer into the tub; placing her body under the shower nozzle. She stood there and helped Spencer wash the stink off her body, occasionally unhooking the shower nozzle to do so.

While it was awkward for Spencer to let a non-family member help her like this, she was still grateful none the less. Mona was gentle as possible, and made sure not to make her friend feel uncomfortable. She let Spencer rinse the more intimate parts of her body while Mona focused on the others. If the situation wasn't so serious, there might have been some embarrassment by the two teens. Mona was just about done when she heard her room door open and someone come to the bathroom door.

"I went through some of our things and found some clothing that might fit Spencer; I'll leave them on the bed. There is also a cup of coffee for her on your nightstand," Leona said from the other side of the door.

"Okay, thank you," Mona said, shutting off the water after hearing her mother leave, shutting the bedroom door behind her.

Grabbing another towel from the rack above the toilet, Mona helped Spencer dry herself off, and then wrapped the taller teen in it. Guiding Spencer out of the bathroom, Mona gabbed the pair of purple shorts and white shirt off the bed; helping Spencer slide into them. Her mother had already grabbed the dirty clothes from the floor and took them with her when she left; hopefully to be burnt.

Sitting her friend on the bed, Mona handed her the cup of coffee and helped her take a few sips. After the cup was done, Mona dried Spencer's hair with the blow-dryer so that she wouldn't get sick; that if she wasn't already from the journey here. When her hair was fully done, Mona sat at the back of Spencer and brushed the taller teen's hair; like she was a doll that needed to be cared for.

After she was done, Mona laid Spencer out on the bed so that she could rest. Seeing that Spencer fell instantly asleep, Mona dimmed the light and put a blanket over her. She then silently exited the room after grabbing her cell phone from the charger. On her way out, Mona cracked the bedroom door as she left for the hallway. She then dialed Spencer's house to get ahold of the teen's parents.

"Hello?" answered Veronica Hastings, sounding a bit frantic.

"Hi Mrs. Hastings, it's Mona. I just wanted to let you know that Spencer is here at my house," Mona said on the phone. She then heard a sigh of relief on the other end and talking in the background, though she couldn't hear who Veronica was talking to.

"Oh thank God; we've been looking for her," said Spencer's mother, sounding relieved.

"Yeah, she is sleeping on my bed right now," Mona reassured her, taking a quick peek at the teen, seeing that she was still sleeping.

"I'll be right over to pick her up," Veronica said as more talking was heard in the background.

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe Spencer could stay the night. I just helped her shower and she is really out like a light. I would hate to disturb her since she is exhausted after what happened," Mona said, using her most convincing tone of voice that she could muster.

"Melissa told me what happened and my husband is at the school right now; I don't know about letting her be by herself for the night though," Veronica said, not convinced about what Mona was proposing.

"Me and my mother are taking care of her; you can come by in the morning though with clothing since Spencer needs them," suggested the teen, hoping that the mother would go for it. There was more discussion in the background and what sounded like arguing. Mona concluded that Melissa was trying to intervene.

"Alright; I'll let her rest and be by in the morning to pick her up. Thank you for your help Mona; I am very grateful," Veronica said and sounded like she meant it.

"It's not a problem Mrs. Hastings; I'll see you in the morning," Mona said and both said their goodbyes. Mona ended the call as her mother came down the hall.

"How is she?" asked Leona, peeking through the door and seeing Spencer asleep on the bed.

"Kind of better; her mother is coming by in the morning," Mona said, looking in the room."That is good; I think Spencer could use her mother right now," Leona stated sympathetically and though Mona disagreed, she kept it to herself.

The sound of the grandfather clock chimed downstairs, and Mona counted the number of rings until it stopped at eleven. She hadn't even realized that it was that late already, and she ended up yawning in front of her mother. Mona was also still hungry, and contemplated going to get that quick snack she had originally planned before all this happened.

"Do you want me to set up a place for you on the couch?" Leona asked, smiling at her daughter. The woman had a sense of being proud about her daughter's actions tonight; it filled her with hope that Mona was now better.

"Umm…..I am just going to grab a quick bite to eat and then grab the cot. Spencer was out in that rain and she might have gotten a cold, so I'll just stick close to her for the night," Mona said.

"Okay; if you need anything, let me know," Leona said.

"I will; thank you again for letting Spencer stay the night," said a grateful Mona to her mother.

"I wasn't going to put the girl out after what happened to her; I am just happy that she has you for a friend," stated Mona's mother, giving her daughter a hug and then kissing her on the forehead.

"I will definitely be her fiend; and so much more," Mona said to herself as she watched her mother walk away into her room and shut the door.

After taking a quick peek at Spencer, and seeing that she was still conked out, Mona went downstairs to get something to eat. Grabbing a leftover sandwich from the refrigerator, the young woman poured herself a glass of sparkling water and went back upstairs. Creeping quietly into her room, she placed the plate of food and her glass on top of the dresser in order not to disturb Spencer. After taking a few quick bites and washing down the food with the bubbly, Mona went out into the hall to get the cot form the closet.

The cot itself was folded nicely in a case which she unzipped and pulled it out, outside of the room. Putting the case in the corner, she unfolded the cot as quietly as she could and eventually put it together; placing it next to the bed. She then went to grab bedding for it from her closet, making sure to open the door slowly since it had a loud squeak to it, if opened too fast. After she was done setting everything up, she sat down on the bed and watched Spencer sleep while she ate.

Personally, she hoped that Spencer had made herself sick in her travel here; though not enough to be a serious health issue. At this moment, Mona knew that Spencer was at her most vulnerable, and most open to what she had planned for the sleeping teen. What was needed though was for Spencer to stay another night and have Mona work her magic. By going home, an opportunity like this would be lost.

Then again, Spencer would still have to face the embarrassment of what happened at the dance on Monday; thus another attempt could be planned. Even if Noel took the fall for whatever happened, Mona still had yet to get the details though the ruined dress told enough, Spencer would most definitely know that it was Alison's hand behind the entire thing. Mona knew full well that Alison always liked to rub her pranks in people's faces; many which Mona herself had to deal with over the years.

Putting the empty plate and glass under the cot, Mona lay down and continued to watch Spencer sleep. A part of her wished that she didn't have to do this and could just be a friend to Spencer; the friendship she had longed to rekindle with Hanna someday. But as long as Alison continued her reign of terror in Rosewood, being a simple friend to Spencer wasn't possible. As long as people like Mona and Spencer were continued to be mistreated by the blonde, then life could never be simple.

As Mona had told herself over and over again, everything she did was to inflict justice on Alison for her crimes against the world. It wasn't out of spite or even revenge; it was for justice. Anyone could act out of revenge and that wasn't Mona's goal; it was to punish Alison because no one else would. The school did nothing, her parents turned a blind eye, and the authorities just didn't care so it was up to Mona to teach Alison a lesson.

After all, if Mona wanted just simple revenge then she would just kill Alison and be done with it. It would be an easy thing to do, just lure Alison away from her comfort zone and catch the blonde by surprise; maybe bang her over the head with a shovel and bury her. But Mona wasn't a murderer and she wasn't about to make Alison a martyr since the town would probably sanctify her passing.

But now she had a real ally; someone who was just as damaged as she was and could help her deal with Alison once and for all. Once her molding of Spencer was complete, the two would make sure that Alison was taken down once and for all. They wouldn't kill her since that would work against their favor, but they would make sure that the whole world would know the real Alison DiLaurentis, and have fun doing it along the way.

Spencer stirred slightly and Mona sat up, concerned for her friend. There was a tear that emerged from the sleeping teen's eyes and there was incoherent mumbling. The way she was shaking, it seemed that Spencer was having a nightmare. Mona got up from the cot and sat down on the bed, stroking Spencer and holding her close.

"Don't worry, I am here to make it all better," whispered the smaller girl as she ran her fingers through Spencer's hair. There was a mumble, but Mona wasn't sure if it was for the dream or for her.

Yes, she had a lot of work to do in the coming days. Spencer's molding would have to go slowly before she could bring her in on the "A" thing.  
>Luckily, Alison had already done half the job for her with the prank; now it was Mona's job to make sure that Spencer could only see the negative influence that the blonde emitted. It wasn't hard given that Alison never did anything that couldn't be considered selfish; it was ingrained in her personality.<p>

The tapping from outside became louder as the rain started to pick up. There was a cold wind emanating from the open window and Mona jumped up to shut it before it could wake Spencer up; the teen needed her rest after all. From what Mona had read, the storm that was over Rosewood was supposed to last the weekend and she hoped that would also ground her sleeping visitor here until Monday.

Because there was work to do.

**Please R&R and a special thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read!**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

**This chapter is a little shorter than my usual ones but that is because I had to break it up slightly given the timeframe. The next one should be longer and meatier since this chapter is more of a setup for the next one. Once again, I like to thank Paraddicted for the Beta.**

It turned out that she did get sick after all.

It was some time in the middle of the night when she had woke up coughing and sneezing; which prompted Mona to her side.

Spencer was burning up and Mona immediately sprang into action, grabbing some medicine from her bathroom cabinet behind the mirror. After making sure to that Spencer drank the orange liquid, she grabbed a cold wash cloth and placed in on the taller teen's forehead to cool her down. She then sat by the side of the bed and watched as Spencer fell back to sleep.

Mona fell back asleep herself, her head resting on the side of the bed with her still in the chair. Her mother had slipped in after hearing the commotion earlier; finding her daughter's sleeping form next to their guest. Giving Mona a motherly smile, she grabbed a blanket from the cot and put over her sleeping daughter. She then left the room quietly and headed downstairs, closing the door softly behind her.

Walking into the kitchen, Leona turned on the lights and figured that she would get an early start on breakfast. She often got up early to make breakfast for herself and Mona; a tradition that was quite common with the two. It would be interesting when Mona left for college and Leona was glad for her other activities in Rosewood since it would be a little lonely without her daughter. Truthfully, Leona would be a little glad when Mona got out of Rosewood given what happened over the summer.

Outside, the storm seemed to be getting worse, and Leona could hear the damage being reported on the radio. Once again, the weatherman was caught by surprise and the simple night of rain had become a lot worse than predicted. This of course meant that downtown would be flooded by morning, thus people's commute would not be fun. Leona was happy that she had the sense to do all of her shopping the other day.

There was now a chance that Spencer's parents might not be able to take her home today; especially if they have trouble getting here. The last time there was a flood, her residence had been cut off for a day or so until the roads were reopened. It had not happened in a while but from what she was hearing, things were starting to look that way. It was good that this would not affect school since it was the weekend.

Having Spencer over for the weekend wasn't a bother, and it was nice to have the company for a change. It was a shame though that it was under bad circumstances; Spencer was a nice girl and didn't deserve what had happened last night. While she cut the potatoes, Leona became angry at the thought of what Alison had done. Just by the look of Spencer when she had arrived, it was obvious that the blond had done something horrible at the dance.

Knowing how the town worked, it was a good chance that Alison would find a way to weasel her way out of being punished; even find a way to make someone else the fall guy. Her family was one of the richest and there was very little anyone could do about her. Kenneth might have been able to understand that his daughter was a monster but as long as Jessica handled the family, Alison would continue to do what she wants.

Leona had through the grapevine that the oldest sibling, Jason, had left town over the summer; possibly for good. Though it was supposedly for academic reasons, she had heard that Jason had developed a problem with drugs, and had checked himself into a rehab center. The rift between him and Kenneth had been so great that Jason swore that he would never come back.  
>Which was a shame since she actually liked him; unlike Alison, Jason had a heart.<p>

As she was about to put the potatoes on the stove to be fried, her phone started to ring and she went to see who it was. The sounds of the wind outside continued to howl and there was the occasional banging against the house walls; which she wasn't too concerned about. At least the roof had just been fixed so there wasn't a worry about leaks. Seeing that it was Peter Hastings, she picked up the phone.

"Hello Peter," Leona greeted as she sat down on the chair.

"Hello Leona; sorry if I woke you up," Peter said on the other end, sounding like he meant to be sorry.

"I was already awake; there was some problem with Spencer earlier," Leona stated and she could hear the hiss on the other end.

"Is she alright?" asked a very concerned father and someone could be heard in the background.

"Yes; it was a small fever from her being in the rain last night. Mona gave her some medicine, and she is now resting comfortably," informed the woman.

"Good; thank you for taking care of her, but I need a favor," Peter said and from what Leona could tell, he sounded like it was hard for him to admit that he wanted something from her.

"You need me to keep Spencer for the weekend," Leona stated before Peter could ask.

"How did you know?" asked a confused father.

"I am seeing what the storm is doing; I don't think it is a good idea for Spencer to come home either," said Mona's mother and she meant it.

"It's not just that; a part of a tree fell in front of the house so we are trapped inside right now," Peter informed, sounding very annoyed.

"I understand and am sorry that you can't get to your daughter. Don't worry though, Spencer is in safe hands," Leona assured him.

"Just thank you for taking care of her and be careful; Spencer is a bit fragile right now," Peter said in a tired tone.

"It is not a problem Peter; Spencer is not Alison's only victim," said Mona's mother.

"What do you mean?" asked Peter and it seemed to Leona that he didn't know what had fully happened.

"I meant the prank that happened to Spencer was Alison's doing," stated Leona. A heavy sigh could be heard on the other end.

"I guess Melissa was right after all; unfortunately, Noel Kahn has copped to the entire thing and will be suspended for a few weeks," Peter informed, sounding angry. It was understandable; despite his many flaws, Leona knew that he truly loved his children.

"Well we both know who was that guiding hand," said Leona testily.

"Yes we do," Peter said, agreeing with the woman.

"When do you expect to pick her up?" asked Leona as she looked at the time. It was almost seven and there was now no need to rush breakfast.

"Sunday though I am not sure when," Peter said and more talking could be heard in the background.

"Well again, it's not a problem," Leona stated. To be honest, Leona felt that Spencer deserved a break from her parents anyways.

"Thank you; I have to go but tell Spencer we love her and we will talk about what happened when she gets home," Peter said and Leona nodded.

"I will Peter; talk to you later," and with that, the two parents said their goodbyes and Leona hung up the phone, heading back to cooking breakfast.

It was another hour when Mona emerged from upstairs and into the kitchen; her mother watching as the small girl went straight to the refrigerator. There was no hello from her daughter, but that was expected by the tired look that Mona was displaying currently. As Mona grabbed the jug of handmade green tea from the refrigerator, Leona grabbed a clean glass and handed it to her daughter with a smile.

"How is Spencer?" Leona asked as Mona chugged her drink. Her daughter was still in her black pajamas, which she was not fond of since it reminded her of the black hoodie from that night several months ago.

"Her fever is almost gone and she is pretty out of it. I don't think she should be going home in this weather," Mona said as she just slumped against the counter. It was a rare sight to see her like this except when it came to exams.

"Well Spencer is in luck because her father called earlier and said that they can't make it to pick Spencer up because of the weather. So they asked that she stay until Sunday and I said yes," Leona said and Mona looked pleased at that.

"Thank you; you're the best," Mona said sweetly, kissing her mother on the cheek.

"So after last night, I think we should let Spencer rest up. I found more of your cousin's clothes so hopefully Spencer can use those for the time being," Leona said and her daughter nodded.

"We can't do much with the weather the way it is anyways," Mona stated and her mother nodded in agreement.

"Which is why we should get out the candles just in case the power goes out since it might get worse. Also make sure your cell phone is charged and check to see if all of the windows are locked," her mother kindly ordered, and Mona complied with a smile. Finishing her tea, she headed out of the kitchen to the storage closet.

Inwardly, Mona was celebrating right now since Spencer was going to stay another night. This meant that she had a whole 24 hours to work her magic with her new friend and she couldn't waste them. As she opened the door to the closet and grabbed the box of candle, Mona contemplated her next move. Her plan was to do what her mother asked and then head back to Spencer's side.

Spencer stirred awake and realized that she really needed to use the bathroom. Getting up, she unconsciously walked into Mona's bathroom and did her business. After finishing and washing her hands, it was only when she had exited the bathroom that Spencer realized that she was not home. She was starting to panic when the memories of last night came back into her head; remembering that she had fled to Mona's in the aftermath of fleeing the dance.

The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer in the dress from the night before; instead, she was in some sort of shorts and t-shirt. Spencer had vague memories of Mona helping her change and shower as well as her friend brushing her hair. She wondered where the smaller girl was since it was still early in the morning and a Saturday. When she had stayed the night a weekend ago, Mona had mentioned that she had liked to sleep in on Saturdays.

The sound of the wind and rain could be heard, making Spencer glad that she was not out in it. She was surprised that the town was experiencing a storm since the weather report had called for only a light rain. There was a chill in the air and the darkness outside was a little unsettling given that the sun should be up right now.

Sitting back down on the bed, Spencer yawned as she noticed the made up cot that was next to the bed. She felt a little guilty about taking up Mona's bed and hoped that her friend hadn't minded. If she had been coherent, Spencer would have taken the cot so that the smaller girl could have her bed. She was grateful enough that Mona had brought her in.  
>If on cue, Mona appeared in the doorway with a cup of coffee in her hand.<p>

"Good morning," Mona said sweetly, handing Spencer the steaming cup which she gladly accepted. As she drank the refreshing liquid, Spencer noted Mona's black attire which she found a little strange since Mona usually wore more colorful clothing.

"Thank you for letting me stay the night; I am sorry that I caused a mess when I showed up," Spencer said quietly as she struggled to clear the cobwebs from her mind. She was caught by surprise when Mona sat next to her, a little closer than Spencer would have liked.

"It's okay Spencer; you are my friend and you are safe here," Mona declared, putting her hand on Spencer's. The taller girl wasn't sure what to say and just drank her coffee.

"So with the storm outside, your parents can't come and pick you up until tomorrow," Mona informed, in a bubbly tone in Spencer's opinion.

"My parents know I am here?" asked Spencer, a little fearful about them knowing where she was.

Spencer knew she should have gone home, but just couldn't face her parents after what had happened at the dance. She had done nothing wrong and it was because of Alison that the prank had happened. But when it came to her parents, Spencer was never sure of anything and had feared that they would have blamed her for the stained dress given her history with substance abuse.

"Of course; they were worried sick but I assured them that you were okay and they were only going to let you stay one night, but the storm is pretty big right now so they will pick you up tomorrow," Mona stated, hiding the glee from her voice.

"Yeah," Spencer said with a somewhat fake smile as she sipped more of her drink. Truthfully, she was happy to be away from her parents for another day.

"So, since the weather is bad; we can just kick back and rest for the day," Mona said as she smiled at her guest.

"That does sound nice," Spencer admitted even though she wasn't sure what there was to do. The last time she had spent the night, she had had her books and other stuff from home. When she had arrived at Mona's place, it was with only a ruined dress and nothing else.

"Also, my mother found some clothes from when my cousin last visited so we have something for you to wear," Mona informed the taller teen.

"Thank you; I'll thank your mother when I see her," Spencer said and Mona nodded.

"So what happened?" Mona asked, pushing the conversation to a more serious subject. Spencer was reluctant but in the end, told Mona everything that had happened.

"You were right; Noel was playing me," Spencer said and there was a mixture of anger as well as hurt in her voice.

"Well, I didn't want to be; you deserved to have a good time," Mona said, lying about not being right.

"I hate her so much," Spencer said with her voice full of venom. Mona nodded in agreement and gave Spencer a sad smile.

"I know; I hate her too and wish she was gone," Mona stated and for the first time, Spencer could sense a little anger in her voice.

"But you know what really makes me mad? That it took me to be out of her posse to see how evil she really is," Spencer told her friend.

"When it comes to Alison, many people had blinders on. I am just glad that you now understand that she is a monster," Mona said as if she understood that for a while now.

"She has to be stopped," Spencer announced and she fully meant it. This was the breaking point and she knew there was no going back after today; Alison had gone too far and it was up to her make sure nothing like this would ever happen again.

"I agree and there are some things you should know," Mona said as she smiled evilly.

**Please R&R!**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

**Sorry for the late update but Christmas Planning kind of disrupted my schedule somewhat; expect a possible update for next Sunday instead of Saturday.**

Spencer watched as Mona made sure to lock her door.

It was just after breakfast and after helping Mona's mother with the dishes, the two headed straight to the room.

The wind was still howling outside, and there was still the occasional bang against the house. The rain had stopped though but the report called for a little more later in the day. While the girls ate their food, they had heard that some parts of Rosewood had been completely shut down due to flooding thus they were temporarily trapped for now. It was supposed to clear up by tomorrow with even some sun appearing in the sky.

After locking the door, Mona smiled at Spencer as sat down on the bed. There was something off about Mona that made Spencer nervous given the change to her demeanor. It wasn't hostile in any shape or form and Spencer didn't feel that she was under threat; but her friend's new attitude seemed a little alarming. It was so secretive that Spencer was suddenly reminded of Alison in a way.

"So remember how I told you that I was sent to Radley over the summer?" Mona asked and Spencer was caught off guard by the seriousness of her question.

"Yeah; you said that you had snapped," Spencer answered, wondering about the point of the question.

"There is a little more to that story than what I told you," Mona stated as she leaned back against the bedframe.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, now more than curious to what her friend meant. Truthfully, she never pondered about what happened to Mona during the summer she was at Radley; chucking it up to the fact that Alison had finally broken the girl.

"I was sent to Radley Sanitarium because I was secretly harassing Alison," Mona admitted to the taller teen. Spencer blinked a couple of times, not sure what to really think about that.

"I don't remember that; Alison never said anything," Spencer stated, thinking back to when she was still a part of the group.

"That's because she was paranoid that one of you was the one behind it. You never noticed that she was acting weird just before summer?" Mona inquired.

"I don't think so," Spencer said, thinking about it.

Mona nodded and wasn't surprised that Spencer never saw it given that she was probably messed up on drugs. Mona had studied Alison vividly back then and knew that the blond liked to keep things to herself; especially when she didn't know who to trust. It was one of her main defense mechanisms when it came to her being attacked. It was also a major weakness since Spencer could have helped Alison since she was on Mona's level of intelligence.

"So what did you do exactly?" asked Spencer, more than curious. She was still forming an opinion on what Mona was telling her.

"Small stuff at first like leaving her messages telling her that she was being watched; that went on for a few days. After that, I would use her secrets against her after following the bitch around; she never once saw me," Mona explained, looking rather smug about it.

"You know Alison's secrets?" Spencer inquired, both astounded and excited at the same time. In all the years that she had been a part of her group, Spencer had never discovered any of the blonde's personal secrets.

"Just about all of them; I use to lord them over her and enjoyed watching the bitch squirm," Mona stated gleefully.

"I think I would have enjoyed seeing that," Spencer said, thinking about it. It was a shame that she had been too drugged up to notice.

"It was like a game and I loved it; even partnered up with Lucas for help," Mona told the taller teen.

"Lucas was your partner?" her friend asked, surprised that Mona had enlisted the male teen. She knew Lucas had left Rosewood High to be homeschooled and thought it was because of Alison's teasing.

"Yeah for a time; I recruited him after Alison spread that Hermie rumor around school. He was great at first but became unreliable later," Mona explained, and Spencer heard a trace of resentment in the shorter teen's tone of voice.

"So what happened?" Spencer inquired, knowing that something had to have stopped Mona since she had been sent to Radley.

"Lucas betrayed me and I was caught by my mom; she had come home and caught me in my hoodie as I was leaving the house. I made the mistake of having my notes on me and she read what I was doing; she called the doctors before I could do more to Alison," Mona explained with slight resentment. Mona couldn't hate her mother for trying to protect her but wished she would had just understood.

"So Alison never found out that it was you?" Spencer doubted it since Alison would have made sure that it was a big deal.

"No; she never found out that I was A," Mona answered, quite proud of the fact.

"A?" Spencer asked, puzzled by the name.

"A; as is Anonymous. It was what I went by when I left her my messages. I always texted her using an untraceable phone just to mess with her," Mona stated.

"Wow, and I never suspected that this was going on. I don't think the other girls knew either because one of us would have mentioned it; especially Emily since she is the most supportive of Alison," the taller teen said, shaking her head.

"Alison liked to keep her secrets and that is what I was counting on since it would have been harder to go after her if she started coordinating you girls," Mona informed and Spencer nodded in agreement. Alison knew how to manage her posse more than anyone else; the other four girls were more equal than anything else.

"So why are you telling me this now?" Spencer asked, having a feeling that she knew the answer.

"Because it is as you said; Alison needs to be stopped and I propose that we are the ones who do it," Mona said as she stared at her friend, trying to gauge her reaction.

Spencer considered the smaller teen's words and she could see the wisdom behind them. It was true that Spencer had uttered that Alison needed to be stopped but she was thinking of officials stepping in, not herself. But then again, that was the problem since no one could or would stop Alison; it had to be them.

"What do you propose we do?" Spencer asked after thinking about it for a minute, curious to know more of Mona's plans before making a commitment.

"That we start off by watching Alison and everything she does so that we find out all of her secrets. Then we use those secrets against her," Mona simply answered and it indeed sounded simplistic.

"To what end? Won't she just tell her parents and the cops be called," Spencer argued though the idea had its merits. But there was so much risk though.

"Alison has some pretty dark secrets; as you well know," Mona countered and Spencer felt her stomach tightening up at what that possibly meant.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"I know about what really happened to Jenna," Mona stated, though not in an accusing tone. There was also no hostility to her statement which Spencer was glad of given what had happened.

"It was an accident; we didn't know she was there," Spencer said softly and Mona gave her a look that said differently.

"Is that what Alison told you? That it was an accident? What if I was to tell you that there was more to that story than what Alison had said," the shorter girl claimed and Spencer was unsure of what Mona meant.

"I was there Mona. Toby was watching us through the window and we tried to get back at him by throwing the smoke bomb in the shed to get back at him. There was a fire and Jenna was caught in it but somehow Alison got Toby to take the blame," stated the taller teen though the last part was different from what Alison had told her at the time.

It wasn't until rehab that Spencer began to rethink what had happened that night in regards to the Jenna thing. She knew that Alison had lied about Toby taking the blame for the reasons that she had told the other girls; suspecting that Alison had blackmailed him into copping to being the perpetrator. However, even if that was true, Toby was still regarded as a pervert in her eyes who had spied on them on multiple occasions.

"Toby never spied on you at all and Alison lied in order to cover up something more," Mona said and Spencer just blinked a couple of times, not sure what to think. Looking into Mona's eyes, Spencer felt that her friend was indeed telling the truth; but still couldn't help but to disbelieve it because of the implications.

"Jenna was Alison's rival at school. You and the other girls just didn't see it because Alison had you all wrapped around her fingertips; blinded to what was going on around you. Your former friend knew that Jenna was going to be at that shed that night and planned to hurt her in order to bring her down. The Toby story was just a way to entrap you all together in case something went wrong," Mona informed, keeping her voice level. There was a bit more to the story, but Spencer didn't need to know what Jenna was doing to Toby just yet.

"She used us," Spencer whispered, putting the pieces all together.

It made sense now that she thought about it. No one saw Toby spying on the girls; ever. In fact, Spencer always found the guy kind of charming. She also always wondered how Alison knew Toby would be in the shed, since it never came up before that night. Alison had also insisted that they all take part in the prank which was unusual at the time since the blond always preferred to act on her own when it came to revenge.

But even though Spencer now knew the truth, it didn't rid her of the guilt that she felt; it just made it more intense. Even if Alison had tricked the rest of the girls, it still had felt wrong to them at the time. Unlike the blond, Spencer's parents had raised her with morals, and what she had done was wrong. Now because of her, two people's lives were now ruined forever and there was no way to make it right for them.

"It's not your fault," Mona said, seeing her friend's inner struggle.

"Yes it is," Spencer argued back softly, staring down into her lap. Maybe she deserved what had happened to her last night.

"No, it isn't. You were young and stupid; completely under Alison's control," Mona argued back, a little more harshly than she wanted but still tried to make her point.

"That doesn't excuse me though," Spencer stated and surprisingly, Mona nodded in agreement.

"You're right, it doesn't but now you have a chance to do something about it; by helping me bring the b*** down," the smaller girl said, switching gears and taking a bigger risk than she wanted. There was a chance that she might push Spencer too far and watch as she did something stupid.

Spencer just sat there and Mona watched as the taller girl contemplated on the plan being proposed. As much as it sounded so wrong, Spencer had to admit that it was very tempting despite the risks. There was a lot that could go wrong since neither of them was perfect and there was a chance that someone could get hurt. But something had to be done because Alison was out of control and it was only a matter of time that something a lot worse could happen.

"I have conditions," Spencer said after a few minutes of silence, the sound of the rain outside the only thing heard in the room.

"Of course," Mona said, shrugging her shoulders and not surprised since Lucas had the same when she first proposed this to him.

"We only act in unison once we knew everything about Alison; that means neither of us acts without the other. Also, our fight is with Alison only; no one else is to be stalked or harassed," Spencer stated and she was adamant about that. She didn't want Aria, Emily, or Hanna involved in this.

"I never planned to involve them; this is all about Alison," Mona said, somewhat disappointed at not being able to go after the rest of the girls; though also relieved since she didn't want to hurt Hanna.

"I also want to make sure that nothing harmful comes to Alison; this is about justice, not revenge," Spencer pressed since she didn't want the blond killed.

"If I wanted Alison dead, I would have taken her out years ago," Mona stated and Spencer believed her given that Mona had more reason to hate Alison than anyone. Spencer at least had friends at one time while the smaller girl was deprived of any because of the blond.

"One more thing; there are to be no secrets between us. I want to know everything you know," Spencer said, stressing the point to Mona.

"That goes both ways; you have to tell me everything as well for this to work," Mona countered, though not hostile in any way.

"Agreed; when do you want to start?" Spencer asked, happy that her friend had agreed to the conditions.

"Well if we start now then Alison will surely know it is us. So for now we just watch and record what she is doing," Mona said, happy to now have a partner that she could count on.

The two sat in the darkness of the room, making plans for the coming week. When the power went off, the two helped Mona's mother light candles throughout the house so that they could see where they needed to go. When Leona wasn't around, the two would make plans in secret so that they wouldn't be caught.

"I found you some more clothes, I hope you don't mind these sweats and grey shirt," Leona said to Spencer in Mona's room. The smaller girl was downstairs getting things ready for dinner using an old wood burning stove.

"Thank you; I appreciate you letting me stay the weekend," Spencer said to the older woman with a smile.

"After what happened last night Spencer, I am just glad you are here safe," Leona stated to the young woman.

"Well I plan to never be caught in something like that again," Spencer informed Mona's mother with full conviction.

"I am sure you have learned a great lesson, but don't let something like this make you do something that you will regret. You are better than Alison," Leona said before she left the room, leaving Spencer in the alone in the darkness.

While Spencer agreed with the woman, she felt that there was no way she was going to regret what was going to happen to Alison.

**Please R&R and a thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read!**


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

**Sorry for the extremely late update but the holiday was quite chaotic for me and I am glad that it's over so expect some normalcy for now on. Once again, a special thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read.**

Spencer sat in the back of the car while her parents bickered in the front.

They had picked up the teen a few minutes ago, after bringing by some clothing for her to wear; which she was thankful since it was nice to be in her own clothing again.

It was a little unnerving to have them both pick her up, and not even Mona's reassuring smile was enough to calm her down. They had both been grateful to Leona, and had even accepted the tea and cookies while Spencer had washed up as well as change her clothing. From what Mona said, it was amusing to watch as her parents seemed to fidget around Mona's mother.

"I don't want to go to a new school," Spencer suddenly spoke up after her mother suggested Spencer transferring to a school outside of town.

"After what happened Sport, it might be for the best," her father said with an agreeing nod from Veronica.

She wasn't sure whether to feel thrilled or annoyed that her father was referring to her by his favorite pet name again after so long. The last time he had referred to her as "Sport" was almost a week before rehab when Spencer had not yet hit rock bottom. When he usually called her this, it was either that he was happy about something she did or because something happened that actually wasn't her fault.

"Well I am over it now; as long as Noel got punished, it will be fine," Spencer said, doing her best to make even that believable to herself as well as her parents.

"He better have gotten punished by now," Peter muttered angrily as he stopped the car at a stoplight.

"The way you acted at school and all the threats you made against Principal Hackett, I imagined that Noel's parents are trying to make sure that he at least doesn't go to jail," Veronica said and Spencer was curious to what had happened once she left.

"We'll have to send Leona something to thank her for letting Spencer stay the weekend," Peter said as the light became green again.

"What do you want to send her?" Veronica asked, her tone neutral on the subject. At least it wasn't harsh like when Jessica DiLaurentis's name came up in the conversation.

"Maybe a bottle of wine or something; Leona was always a fan of the older stuff before Mona was born," Peter said and his wife nodded.

"What was she like before Mona?" Spencer asked, curious about the older woman.

The last two times Spencer had visited the Vanderwaal residence, she had noticed that there were only pictures of mother and daughter together. It was unusual since every house she had ever been to had family photos from the past and the lack of them had been curious. She knew that Leona Vanderwaal had grown up in Rosewood but nothing much other than that. Spencer never even asked where Mona's father was; if she even had one.

"Leona? Quiet and quite the studious student until she met her boyfriend; had that fling with him that led to Mona's birth. After that, he died in an accident that left her millions as well as the house," Peter informed her and Spencer blinked in surprise since Leona didn't seem like the wild child to her.

"She and Jessica never got along," Veronica said, trying to remember back then.

"Really?" Spencer inquired, kind of surprised that the dislike transcended to the next generation.

"For the most part; Jessica liked to put herself at the center of attention in this town where as Leona liked to do good acts just for the good of the community. That made them butt heads a number of times," Peter explained and Spencer wasn't really surprising given her experience with Alison's mother.

The rest of the ride was silent as Spencer contemplated on what she just learned. She had already decided to partner with Mona and what she just learned wouldn't deter that; she just wondered if they should keep an eye on Alison's mother as well. If Alison had so many secrets and took after her mother, then there is a more than likely chance that Jessica had a few of her own. Kenneth, Alison's father, was never in town because of work and Jason had left a while ago; never to return in the rumors were to be believed.

As they approached the house, Spencer noticed the damage across the street with a few trees down. There was no damage to the Hastings residence and all confined to the other side of the street; where Alison's house was. In fact, there was a massive tree down on their front yard as well as a part of the driveway. Spencer smirked at that and hoped that there was more damage in the back of the house.

"That family is out of town for a week from what I understand; staying at their summer house in South Carolina," Peter informed his daughter, seeing her smirk in the rearview mirror.

"Okay," Spencer said, keeping her tone free of emotion. She had almost said "good" but decided against it. If Alison was gone for a week then her and Mona's plans would have to be put on hold until she got back.

"The power came back on last night so there is nothing to worry about," Veronica said as the car pulled into the driveway.

"There was no power at Mona's house for a while too," Spencer informed, wondering how her parents coped since they relied on electricity as much as she did.

It was rough at first because Spencer was online more since she had gotten home from rehab. Given her new situation with a lack of friends, she was often online after finishing her schoolwork and chores; even with her new relationship with Mona. Being with the Vanderwaals for two nights showed her that there could be fun with no power if you had books and board games to keep you entertained.

"So did you stay here?" Spencer asked as the three got out of the car, grabbing her bag from the trunk.

"No; the family stayed at the club until this morning; me and your father arrived this morning to see what needed to be done as well as grab some things for you," her mother said and Spencer acknowledged.

"Is Melissa here?" Spencer inquired, not seeing her car, but considered that maybe Wren might have borrowed; it since his was in the shop. It was a foreign built vehicle so there was a lack of specialty shops in the area so it had to go to a place in Philadelphia.

"No; she and Wren are still at the club, they will be home tonight," Peter said as he unlocked the front door and the three made their way inside.

There was a chill in the air but everything looked clean and tidy. From the smell of things, it looked like the cleaners had just left. She never inquired about any damage to the Hastings house and wondered if there had been any. While the repair people could have arrived to fix any broken glass or other damaged areas of the house, she knew they wouldn't have operated this fast; especially with a lack of power. Given the wind direction and the lack of large trees on the property, Spencer doubted that there was.

"Are you still hungry?" her mother asked, as Spencer started to make her way upstairs.

"No; Mrs. Vanderwaal made a large breakfast this morning," Spencer answered, smiling at her mother. Veronica nodded and the teen continued her way to her room.

Once she was inside, Spencer shut the door and tossed the overnight bag onto her bed. She contemplated changing out of jeans and shirt but decided to leave them on in case they weren't going anywhere. There was a chance that the family might go out to eat at the club later thus Spencer might have to change into something nicer; which might be a good idea for her to pick out a dress in advance.

Look around her room, Spencer made sure to check out everything to see if there had been any damage from the storm; also to make sure if there had been snooping by her parents. She knew that they were doing it while she was out; Spencer was smart enough to leave little traps that had been broken a number of times. She wasn't resentful about it though since it had been expected of her parents when Spencer first left rehab.

During her stay with Mona, Spencer had gotten the details of her friend's surveillance of Alison; finding some of the details surprising. When Mona mentioned that she had hid in Spencer's closet when there were sleepovers with her former friends, she had been a little angry until Mona revealed that Alison used to drug their drinks and sneak out for a few hours. There were even photos that Mona took to back it up.

It was amazing to Spencer that Mona could get around so much and not get noticed; that especially went to sneaking into the various rooms of Alison's posse. Mona had tons of information from Hanna's eating disorder to informing Spencer that Emily was secretly gay and no one but Alison knowing about it; Spencer had become angry at the blond for bullying the swimmer about it instead of supporting her.

Going into her closet, Spencer looked for the place that Mona said she had been hiding; sure enough, finding the spot in the corner. Mona had used Spencer's unused clothing as a makeshift camouflage shelter of sorts; it had been amazing that the taller teen had never noticed it before now. Apparently, there were similar places in Emily's, Hanna's, and Aria's houses as well; even more where Alison lived.

It was creepy but useful as well since Mona was able to see everything Alison had done behind their backs.

After checking the closet, Spencer then went to her computer and turned it on. Sitting at the desk, Spencer opened her blinds to look over at Alison's room; which was completely exposed with the blinds up as well as the drapes. Given that the house was completely empty, Spencer was tempted to stroll on over and rummage through the blonds room for the Hell of it; perhaps maybe even doing it in the middle of the night.

It would be easy to do given that Melissa was in the barn with her husband and her parents being heavy sleepers. Mona had provided Spencer with a map of all the places of interest for the DiLaurentis house as well as all of Alison's hiding spots. There also ways to break into the residence without anyone knowing about it since Mona had done it a number of times. All Spencer needed was a dark hoodie so that she could stay hidden in the dark.

Which Mona planned to provide as soon as possible.

With the internet back up, which had been down for the weekend according to her parents, Spencer checked her email and found nothing but spam. She had hoped for some emails of support from her peers at school, but wasn't disappointed that there were none since Mona had warned her about it. Checking the local social networking sites, Spencer wasn't surprised to learn that the prank that had been sprung on her was being talked about.

To their credit, not all of her peers were bragging about the prank and most seemed horrified about what had happened. While there was no out and out condemnation of what had happened to her, there was no support of the prank by the majority of her fellow students; with the exception being from Noel Khan's friends. Before she could look at the comments from them, there was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Come in," Spencer said, minimizing the page she was on and bringing up a local news site detailing the damage from the storm.

"I thought I would see how you are doing," her mother said as she came in with two cups of coffee, one which she handed to her daughter. She then took a seat on the bed and smiled at her daughter while sipping her own coffee.

"Tired; a little nervous about going to school tomorrow," Spencer said honestly, deciding on the truth for now until she needed to lie.

"I was talking it over with your father and we agreed that maybe we could get a private tutor for you to finish your schooling," Veronica said and Spencer took a second to take that offer in. She honestly would have found that appealing a few months ago.

"No; I want to go back to school. I can't let them see that I am weak," Spencer said with conviction in her tone. Plus she now had a partner which would help her fight back against Alison.

"You mean "you can't think let her think I am weak"," Veronica said, motioning her cup towards the house next door.

"It doesn't make it any less true; Alison preys on weakness and I don't plan to show her any," Spencer simply said as convincing as possible.

"Well your father and I are glad to hear that but we are just afraid that this might cause you to back slide," Veronica said and her daughter became angry at that but kept silent.

"Well that was before I had real friends which I now have," Spencer said, failing to keep the anger completely out of her voice. Actually, it was only one friend but the point could still be made.

"I am glad that you have Mona but are you sure about her? Melissa told me about her visit to Radley over the summer," Veronica informed her daughter and once again, Spencer's anger rose.

"Because of all the torture that Alison made her go through; she had a bad summer just like me," Spencer defended, her voice rising in anger that she rarely used against her mother; who was taken aback suddenly by her daughter's tone.

"You are right; that was wrong of me to say. Especially given how they treated you over the weekend when you needed help," Veronica conceded, which Spencer was happy about since her mother rarely admitted that she was wrong.

"Maybe she can stay over sometime so that you get to know her," Spencer said, hoping that her parents could see that Melissa was wrong about her. She had forgotten to ask about the history between Mona and her sister, planning to do it tomorrow at school at the earliest chance.

"That would be fine; we'll have to do dinner out as well," said her mother and her daughter smiled at that.

"Are we eating out?" Spencer asked, looking at the time and at her closet.

"No; your sister and Wren are bringing food from the club," answered Veronica and Spencer nodded, happy that they were staying home. Her mother then got up and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

After checking out the social network, Spencer shut down the computer and went her closet. She went through her clothing for a pair of black sweat pants and matching sweatshirt for tonight; figuring that this was an opportunity that she couldn't miss to dig through Alison's stuff. She would have to be careful though since her parents would be on heightened alert tonight because of what happened to her.

Hearing a car arrive, Spencer looked out her window after she stuffed her clothing for tonight under her pillow. Seeing that Melissa and Wren had come home, she mentally prepared herself for dinner and the coming conversation was to occur; specifically between the two siblings at the dinner table. While Spencer knew that Melissa would try and make herself look great during dinner, Spencer had other plans.

Melissa would not have her way this time.

**Please R&R!**


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Still don't own it

Spencer and Melissa gave each other opposing looks at the table.

The latest conflict started as soon as Spencer had entered the kitchen and sat at her usual spot at the dinner table.

At first, Spencer had kept her face blank as she waited for her plate. Melissa had brought home Italian in the form of raviolis as well as bread and salad. Melissa smirked at her younger sister and Spencer just smiled back at her though her eyes were hard. She was thoroughly polite and thanked her older sister for the food sweetly; which briefly caught Melissa by surprise. After everyone was served, they began to eat.

At first there was only silence between the family, which was a little unusual given that the normal routine was for Peter to ask how everyone's day was. But given that the family had spent most of the day together in some form, it really wasn't needed in Spencer's opinion. She didn't really care about how Melissa's was and still wasn't used to Wren; they barely have had a conversation since he arrived.

"How is Leona?" Melissa suddenly asked Spencer, breaking the silence. While there wasn't anything hostile to the question, Spencer could see the hardness in her sister's eyes.

"She is good; I enjoyed her company," Spencer answered, not bothering to go further in the response.

"When I babysat Mona, I always found her to be an unusual woman," Melissa stated and Spencer took that as an opening shot. While it wasn't a direct insult to the older woman, it was definitely not a compliment in any shape or form.

"Really? I find her to be someone to look up to," Spencer countered, still making her tone polite as possible.

"How?" Melissa asked, actually curious. Both sisters noted that their parents were staying out of the conversation for now; only to get involved if the conversation turned nasty. Wren, as usual, just sat back and observed since he didn't want to draw his wife's ire.

"From what I understand, Leona has raised a daughter by herself while still being one of the main pillars of the town; that is something to admire," Spencer stated and she noted an agreeing nod from her father.

"But she still got pregnant out of wedlock because she became distracted from her future," Melissa countered back; mimicking Spencer's polite tone which slightly irritated the younger sister.

"But she recovered from her mistake and still made a life of her own with Mona. How many women could accomplish that?" Spencer struck back, keeping her tone level; if she got too angry, then her sister would win.

"Only because she received money," Melissa simply shot back, dismissing her younger sister's argument.

"Money doesn't mean anything unless you know how to not squander it; she knew what to do with it so she could secure a future for herself and her daughter. Mrs. Vanderwaal also knew how to expand her wealth and her career," Spencer stated, trying to get the upper hand.

"Maybe; but that didn't help Mona from having to go to Radley," Melissa countered again; going nuclear and trying to push Spencer to saying something that would be immature.

Unfortunately for Melissa, Spencer had been waiting for this and had prepared for it. Ever since her mother had informed Spencer that she knew about Mona's trip to Radley over the summer, she knew it would come up again by Melissa. By telling their mother about Mona, her older sister had exposed her hand too soon which allowed Spencer could come up with a way to counter it.

"You're right; Mona had a breakdown and had to go to the hospital because of it. I had a breakdown as well and needed to go somewhere to get help. It sometimes happens to people, and all that matters is that we pick ourselves up to move forward. I am doing that and so is Mona; I am glad that we can help each other since there is so little help from this town other than family," Spencer said, adding the last part to appease her parents.

"That is a very mature thing to say," Wren observed, only to wither from his wife's glare.

"I agree and you are right; I am happy that you and Mona can grow as friends because of it," Veronica said, smiling at her daughter. Peter also gave an approving nod as well.

From the sound of it as well as Melissa's silent rage, Spencer had won the conversation. She gave an internal whoop of triumph since this was the first time that she ever won over Melissa in a debate. If she could maintain this edge over her sister then things were bound to get easier around here; which she needed if her and Mona's plans were to go forward. Spencer needed her parents to see that her life as an addict was behind her.

"Maybe we should invite Mona over for dinner sometime," Peter said and Melissa looked at her father in alarm; which only Spencer caught.

"I think that would be great," Spencer said, giving her sister a slight smirk that only she could see.

"Are we sure we want to do that? Mona is still fragile as well as Spencer," Melissa stated, trying to regain her ground.

"It would be nice to have friends of Spencer's over again; it has been too long since we have had company like that," Veronica said, backing up Peter's offer; thus her parents now siding with the younger sister. Melissa wouldn't be able to recover now in Spencer's opinion.

"How about next weekend; maybe she could stay over?" Spencer asked, trying to take advantage of her win.

"Sounds fine to me," Peter said and Veronica gave her approval as well. Melissa looked visibly shaken about that and once again, Spencer needed to ask Mona what was between the two.

After that, dinner seemed to evaporate into silence and Spencer ate the rest of her food in triumph while Melissa brooded; Wren knew he was not going to have a nice night. After she was finished eating, Spencer helped with the cleanup since Melissa had retreated to the barn with Wren following behind. Once everything had been straightened out, Spencer was about to head back upstairs when her mother pulled her aside.

"I just wanted to say that I was proud of your attitude at dinner; me and your father were moved by your defense of Mona," Veronica said and Spencer felt some immense happiness since a statement like that coming from her mother was so rare.

"I just felt it was the right thing to do," Spencer said even though it was a bold face lie. She had done it to fight back against Melissa more than anything; though she did feel the need to stick up for her friend.

"Well I agree; which is why, if you want, we could write you a note tomorrow if you wanted to stay home from school," said her mother and Spencer blinked a few times to contemplate what her mother just said.

It was a pretty well-known belief in the Hastings family that unless you had some sort of contagious disease, you were going to school. No matter the circumstances, you were to make sure that you had a perfect attendance since that went over very well on college applications and there should be no reason for anything but a flawless one. At the dinner table, Peter would often brag about passing his tests while having the flu.

"That's okay; I can handle school tomorrow," Spencer said, trying to be convincing as possible. In truth, she wasn't sure she was ready to face the crowds of teens and their looks, since what happened to her had to be all over town by now. At least she had Mona at her side for comfort when she needed it.

"Are you sure? We don't want to send you out into the jungle," Veronica stated and it was an odd thing for the older woman to say but still made its point.

"No; I'm good. Alison is out of town and Noel is being dealt with by the school. I will be fine; everyone gets pranked at some point in their life. All that matters is that you move on," Spencer said and it sounded incredibly cheesy even to her. Fortunately, her mother seemed to eat it up and smiled at her daughter with what looked like pride.

"Alright then; will Mona be picking you up as usual?" Veronica asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, but a little early since we have a test in the morning and we wanted to get some morning coffee at The Brew," Spencer answered, looking forward to going. She hadn't been to the place since before summer and desired their lattes.

"Okay then; well your father and I are heading to bed since we both have Court in the morning. Good night," said her mother, giving the teen a hug before heading upstairs where her father already was.

This allowed for even a bigger chance to head out tonight to the house next door since both Hastings adults would be taking a sleeping pill before bed. It only happened when they had big cases in the mornings and they needed their full wits about them. The pills they took had a tendency to really knock them out which would allow Spencer to sneak out of the house very easily. It would also help that the barn where Melissa and her husband was out of the way so she wouldn't be discovered by them either.

Once she was in her room and made sure the door was closed, Spencer went to her bag and dumped out its contents onto the bed. Sifting through the various clothing, she pulled out the small notebook that Mona had given her before leaving her house. In it were various maps and drawings of Alison's house; with secret ways to break in without anyone knowing. While it had been a while since Mona had been back to the house, she was confident that nothing had changed and the entrances were still there.

Which Spencer would find out tonight.

As it happened, Spencer knew of ways to sneak out of her own house; having done so on multiple occasions before the drugs had wrecked her summer. When she had first arrived home, she had gone to check if her parents had filled the holes in the house's security; finding them still there. They were not a huge problem for the family in case there was a break in, but they were still a slight problem that could be exploited.

Taking out a pair of black sweats and long sleeved shirt, she laid them onto the bed as well as her sneakers. Spencer then spent the good part of the hour, memorizing the map of Alison's house and the places of interest once she was inside. She was hoping that Mona's map wasn't out of date since it would end this escapade in failure; and that wasn't an option tonight. She had bested Melissa at dinner and it was now time to steal Alison's secrets from her.

She changed into the clothing, shoes and all after shutting off the light. She then climbed into the bed after hiding the notebook in a secret spot in the closet; the same one where Mona had stashed food to keep her fed when spying on the girls during sleepovers. It amazed Spencer that she had never spotted the loose board in her closet no matter how many times she had been inside. She wondered if there were other places like that in the house.

Once it hit midnight and confident that her parents were asleep, Spencer sprang into action and got out of bed. After shifting the pillows to make it appear that she was still in bed, even using a wig from a Halloween in the past, she left the room and quietly walked down the hall. She made sure to avoid the places where the floorboards creaked in order not to wake up her parents in case they hadn't taken their sleeping medication.  
>Once she was downstairs, instead of going to the backdoor, Spencer headed to where the garage was and opened the door slowly in order not to attract attention. Leaving it cracked behind her, Spencer headed to the other side and kneeled down to see if the wooden boards were still loose. Finding that they were, Spencer pushed open the board until there was enough space for her to crawl out of the building; the secret entrance worked both ways so that she could come back the same way.<p>

Avoiding the open areas, Spencer made her way to the DiLaurentis house in the darkness of the night. The storm seemed to have knocked out all the motion lights which made things easier for the tall teen. Going to the first and easiest way into Alison's house, Spencer went to the side of the porch and looked for the cover to the air vent that went to the basement of the house. Finding it, Spencer was happy to see that it was the same from the drawing and the screws were easy to turn; which is why she had brought a pocket knife with a screw driver in it.

After using the tool to remove the screws, she placed the cover with the metal screws on the side of the vent and crawled inside, moving through the darkness. There was enough light from the nightlight in the basement for her to see was glad to be wearing gloves since there was a layer of dirt on the cement vent. Eventually, she found herself in the basement of the house and slid out of the hole.

According to her father, the power was still out in the house so Spencer did not have to worry about an alarm. Making her way up the stairs, she came into the kitchen and stayed close to the shadows since the windows were all uncovered. Her target was the attic since most of Alison's secret places were located there; though going for her room was tempting. She had a mind to do some damage to the blonde's room but thought better of it since she didn't want anyone to know she was there.

The house had changed little since Spencer had last been here and she was curious to see if it was the same for Alison's room; one could only see so much from the window next door. But she had a time limit and proceeded to the attic, finding the door unlocked which she was thankful for. Mona's notebook had shown ways around the lock and Spencer was glad that she now didn't have to go to all that trouble.

Heading up the stairs, it was cold in the attic and Spencer was glad for the layer of clothing on her. Looking around, she went for the first secret place and found nothing, much to her disappointment. Still there were others as she moved around in the darkness, with the moonlight from outside as the only source of illumination for her. As expected, Mona's map was dead on accurate and Spencer was happy that the family never cleaned their attic; preferring to dump all the unwanted stuff here.

It wasn't surprising that most of the stuff in once corner was Jason's.

It was another minute before she hit the jackpot, finding a bunch of notebooks in one of the old trucks in the corner. After opening it up, she found the books lying at the bottom of a pile of clothing inside. Grabbing them, she went to the window to see what she found and smiled when Spencer discovered what they were; Alison's diaries. There were only a few of them but it was a start; there would be time to make a return trip later for the rest if she could find them.

Deciding that it was time to go back, Spencer tucked the colored notebooks into her shirt and headed out of the attic, not caring that she was making a racket. The house was dark and empty, a little creepy under other circumstances but she didn't care. Still keeping to the shadows, Spencer quickened her pace and made her way back to the basement; making sure to close the door behind her since that was how she found it.

Once she was out of the house, Spencer sealed the cover of the vent and slowly made her way back to her place. She was in such a hurry but still moved slowly since she couldn't afford to get caught now. This was once of the best nights she had in a while and Spencer couldn't screw it up by being careless. After making it back to the garage, she pushed her way into the building through the loose board. Once she was inside, she slowly tiptoed to the side door to the kitchen and peeked through the crack.

Finding that no one was in the kitchen, Spencer entered and silently closed the door behind her. She once again moved quietly though the house until reaching the stairs, stopping at the base to listen for activity. Hearing nothing, the teen made her way up and was going down the hall to her room when a sudden noise caught her attention. She paused for a minute as her eyes widened as she watched the knob to her parents room turn.

Then the hall light turned on, exposing Spencer for all to see.

**Please R&R and a special thanks to Paraddicted for the review!**


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

Spencer had to think fast.

Not caring if she was heard, the teen bolted down the hall to her room before she could be spotted in her garb.

"Spencer?" her mother asked as the teen slammed her door.

"Sorry, it's me; I had to go get a drink of water," said Spencer through the cracked door. She stood on the other side and out of sight so that her mother could not see what she was dressed it.

"So why did you run back to you room?" Veronica asked, puzzled by the behavior.

"I forgot how I was dressed and I was afraid you were dad," the teen stated in a fake embarrassed tone.

"I see; well make sure you dress in your robe next time," said her mother as she yawned.

"I will; sorry," Spencer said, closing the door.

Once inside, she pulled off the sweat shirt and pants, tossing them in the corner along with the gloves. Putting on her pajamas, she grabbed the robe to further cover herself. With the diaries still in the pile of clothes, Spencer walked over to them and put the notebooks under her pillow so that she could read them later. She then wiped her face of any dirt and left her room to get that drink of water.  
>She was telling the truth somewhat; she was thirsty.<p>

Walking downstairs, Spencer found her mother nursing a glass of milk at the counter; she smiled at her mother as she went for a glass in the cupboard. Her adrenaline was at its max from her recent foray to the DiLaurentis place as well as almost being caught by her mother and she was doing her best to calm herself. She wondered if it had been like this for Mona when she was spying on Alison and sneaking around.

"Couldn't sleep?" Spencer asked her mother as Veronica finished her glass of milk. Spencer knew that her mother always drank milk at night when the woman couldn't sleep.

"I gave your father the last pill; we had to go through a lot of them lately and your father needed it more than I did after what has happened the last few days," informed her mother and Spencer's curiosity was perked.

"What do you mean?" asked the daughter as she stood by the sink.

"Your father took what happened to you not well and went on a tirade at school; nearly getting arrested," informed the older woman and Spencer blinked a few times at that.

"I don't know what to say," Spencer said in all honesty. For her father to come to her defense made her feel happy since it was a first.

"You don't need to say anything Spencer; you are our daughter and we want what is best for you," Veronica said, fully meaning it.

"I am sorry for what happened," Spencer said, feeling a little guilty. Mona had said many times over the weekend that the prank wasn't her fault but Spencer felt it was since she had fallen for it.

"We don't blame you; we are just angry that you were treated like that," said her mother with a heavy sigh.

"Well you don't have to worry; I just have to move on," Spencer stated though she wasn't exactly going to do that but something more.

"Well I am proud of you for the maturity that you are showing; that goes for your father too. Just make sure you concentrate on your schoolwork and you will be out in no time," her mother said and Spencer nodded.

Her mother then left the kitchen after putting her glass in the sink.

Spencer, after finishing her water, retreated back to her room and slipped into bed. She was tired and had school in the morning but couldn't pass up the opportunity to dive into Alison's diaries. Turning on her lamp, Spencer grabbed the pink volume and started reading while curling up in the covers. She was tempted wait for Mona so that they could read them together but went for it anyways and hoped her friend wouldn't mind.

From the reading the first pages, Spencer could tell that this was from an earlier time in Alison's life; maybe even before she was brought into the group. Some of the stuff she read was innocent enough though it had a good amount of detail about the various arguments that Jason had with his parents. Apparently, the older brother wasn't deluded about the innocence of his sister so Alison had framed him for a few things that she had done.

There were some new things that she had discovered about the blond though; it turned out that Alison had put together groups of friends before. It was always a set number of four with a range of personalities; apparently Spencer had not been the only brain that Alison had recruited in the past. She felt a little prideful at that though since this meant that Alison never brought in just anyone into her circle of friends.

It seemed that each girl was supposed to fulfill a particular role in the group; she wasn't surprised at Hanna's and Emily's role though Aria's was interesting. Now that Spencer thought about it, Aria was indeed the more compassionate one, and was the first to forgive if there was some slight against her. So it made sense to have Aria in her group in case Alison needed a peacemaker because she had gone too far.

Spencer thought about finding some sort of psychological book to go along with Alison's diaries so that she could properly diagnose the blond.  
>She felt that if she did that, it would better help her understand her former friend. Alison definitely had her issues, and it would make sense for her to get ahead of the blond in order to anticipate what she would do once things moved forward on the A front.<p>

Seeing that it was getting even later, Spencer got up and took the diaries to put in a safe place. There was really only one place to hide them; the one location that her parents never found when they had searched her room for all the pills that Spencer had stashed. She knew they hadn't found it because there still had been a bottle of pills in the secret place when she first noticed that it had been undisturbed.

She had disposed of the bottle quietly so that the secret place could be kept to herself.

The place was a hole in her floor in the corner of her room; where a dresser sat above it so no one but her knew that it was there. Spencer had found the place by accident one day while rearranging her room and had used it ever since. Moving the dresser quietly, Spencer pulled up the loose carpet and put the diaries inside the hole. After that she sealed up the space and went to bed.

She actually slept pretty well and was awoken by her alarm for once. In fact, it took a minute for her to even recognize the sound of her clock alarm, since she had not heard it in months. While she was still tired, she still felt somewhat refreshed though she was still nervous about school. Spencer once again was tempted to take her parent's offer of skipping school for today but knew that she would have to go eventually; better when Alison was away.

Shutting off the alarm, Spencer got up and stretched out before going to her closet to pick out an outfit for the day. Going with something conservative, Spencer got dressed and went to the bathroom to finish up. Once she checked out herself in the mirror, she checked out her bag for her school stuff and found everything there; the bag left undisturbed since Friday before she had left for the dance with Noel. All of her current school work had been turned in already so there was nothing due today; which she was thankful for since she had not had the time to do anything this weekend.

"Morning," Spencer said to everyone as she entered the kitchen, offering a small smile that was somewhat fake.

"Morning Sport; sleep well?" asked her father from the table as he was looking at the newspaper.

"Yes; I slept good, thank you," she said as she grabbed the orange juice from the refrigerator.

While her mother and Wren greeted her, Melissa had yet to say a word and Spencer figured that her older sister was still brooding. From looking at Wren, it was obvious that he had a rough night, and Spencer could only imagine the earful had had gotten from Melissa when the two had been alone together. She felt sorry for him since he seemed like a good guy despite the very little contact she had with him.

"Do you want some pancakes? Melissa made them," Veronica said, and there was a sideways glance from her sister that she would have missed if it weren't for the black look on her face.

"No; I am good. Mona is bringing some food from her mother so that we can snack on the way to school," Spencer said, and she caught the glare from Melissa at the mention of Mona's name. Spencer really needed to find out what had happened between the two given the amount of animosity that there was.

Speaking of which, there the sound of the doorbell and Wren went to go answer it. Looking at the time, it appeared that Mona was a little early and Spencer wondered if her friend had any news that she should be aware of, since the smaller teen had a closer ear on the school than Spencer. Sure enough, it was indeed Mona who came into the kitchen along with Wren with her usual glowing smile. 

A smile that always had an interesting effect on Melissa.

"Morning; are you ready to go? I brought homemade pastries for everyone," stated Mona as she put the plate of treats onto the table.

"Ahh…thank you," Peter said as he took one of the treats and bit into it. Spencer could tell that he was enjoying it, and watched her mother take one for herself.

"These are good; thank you Mona," Veronica said and Wren reached for one until he noticed the look from his wife thus he politely declined.

"Did your mother make these? I always found that you tend to use a lot of sugar while Leona just does the right amount," Melissa stated and her smile was a predatory one.

While her parents obviously didn't see it, Spencer knew that Melissa had just subtly insulted Mona to her face; which Mona knew full well by the look on her face. Spencer could see the fire in her friend's eyes and hoped the smaller teen wouldn't fall into Melisa's trap since her sister was obviously baiting Mona. Despite her usual demeanor, Mona did have a temper that could come out at any time.

"Well Melissa, I just learned from you on how to keep doing something until perfected; you after all, taught me well," Mona said to Melissa in a sweet voice and Spencer knew that there was a hidden meaning there, and she wished knew what it was.

"We have to go; enjoy the treats," Spencer said, and grabbed her bag while leading Mona out of the kitchen before Melissa could respond to the taunt. Her parents waved their daughter goodbye with their mouths full of food.

"What is it between you two?" Spencer asked once they were in the car and on their way to school.

"We have a history going back a few years," Mona simply said and Spencer could hear the bitterness in her friend's voice.

"And what is it?" the taller teen asked; wanting to know the answer today since she was tired of guessing.

"Remember Ian?" Mona asked and Spencer nodded since she had a rather unfortunate history with the man.

"I was the reason why your sister dumped him as well as possibly his death," admitted the smaller girl and Spencer looked over at her in shock.

"What did you do?" Spencer asked as they were stopped at a red light. To say that Spencer was shocked was an understatement.

Spencer knew that the breakup between Ian and her sister had been rather nasty, and Melissa had sulked in her room for a week after it had happened. It had occurred when Spencer just started getting into her drug habit thus why her parents caught it too late because they had been distracted by what had happened to Melissa; it had been believed that Ian and Melissa were to eventually marry. But they had broken up and Ian had been found dead in a cheap hotel in Philadelphia though the reason why was still unknown.

"I was the one to tell and show Melissa that Ian was a sleaze because he had been banging Alison," Mona said simply as if it were the weather. Spencer nearly choke on her pastry, and was glad that she had not been drinking coffee since she would have made one Hell of a mess on Mona's windshield.

"Wait; Alison and Ian were dating?" Spencer asked in disbelief.

"No; they were sleeping together; Alison has a thing for older guys, and she seduced Ian while he was dating your sister," Mona informer her friend.

"I can't believe it," Spencer said though she did kiss him once in the heat of a moment while he had been teaching her field hockey. It had only been one time and Alison had saw; threatening to tell Melissa which she never did because even she knew that the older sister would never believe her.

"Believe it; Alison was a sleaze and I had taped them doing it in the back of his car during my many surveillance operations. I then showed your sister who was not happy and did something to chase him out of town," stated Mona with a slight smirk.

"But why is she mad at you; I would be happy to know that my boyfriend is banging that blond bitch," Spencer said, not understanding why there was an animosity between her friend and sister.

"Because I had done it to get back at your sister for stabbing me in the back; and she knew it. That's why she hates me," said the teen as she pulled into the school parking lot.

"What did Melissa do to stab you in the back?" inquired the taller teen since she could hear the anger and hurt in her friend's voice.

"When Alison first started bullying me, I went to Melissa for help since she had been my babysitter and what I thought was my friend. She left me out to dry when I needed her and I still hate her for it," Mona explained and she really did look hurt by it.

"I'm sorry," Spencer said and she meant it. She couldn't believe that Melissa would do that to someone who needed her help. Actually, she could since Melissa wouldn't even help her own sister when she had needed it.

"What really made me angry was that I had looked up to your sister, and I learned a lot from her. So when I had found out about Ian and Alison, I showed Melissa the tapes and rubbed her nose in it just for kicks," Mona admitted and Spencer couldn't be angry with her given the betrayal that her sister had done to her friend.

The two sat in the car for a minute after Mona had parked the car.

"Are you ready for this?" Mona asked and Spencer nodded, opening her door to get out. That was when she spotted something that had caught her by surprise.

She watched Aria climb out of Ezra Fitz's car.

**Please Read and Review and once again, a special thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read!**


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